Spain's Capitulation Has Gotten Them Nothing

In today's news:
14 held on suspicion of plot to attack Barcelona
MADRID, Spain – Police arrested 14 suspected Islamic militants in early raids Saturday, amid fears that the men were plotting a terrorist attack in Barcelona, the interior minister said. The suspects, 12 Pakistanis and two Indian nationals, were arrested less than two months before national elections in Spain. The country's last vote in March 2004 was held just after the Madrid train bombings – Europe's worst Islamic-linked terror attack.

[by KLH:
I remember the news starting about four years ago when the terrorist attack of 2004 occurred right before the elections in Spain. 192 people were killed and thousands were injured in a rush hour attack. The government initially blamed the wrong group for the attack. Evidence mounted that Al Quaeda (Islamic extremists) were responsible. As a result, the socialist party candidate won the election for Prime Minister. Subsequently, Spain pulled its troops from the war against terrorism in Iraq. This was what the Islamic terrorists wanted. The news indicated that the new Spanish government believed this move would cause Al Quaeda and other Islamic extremist groups to leave Spain terrorism free.
Apparently, they were wrong. They were lucky enough to catch a group preparing another pre-election attack.
We have to learn from this. We do not want to put milquetoasty democrats in office. We do not want to capitulate to the terrorists. Spain thought their surrender would protect them. They were wrong.
If any of you paid attention in history class, you would recall a British Prime Minister by the name of Nelville Chamberlain. He constantly turned a blind eye to Hitler's imperialistic activities in continential Europe. Great Britain was only saved by the election of Winston Churchill who had the guts for a fight.
These people will not go away until they destroy us or we destroy them! If you don't understand that about what is going on, you are naive and foolish.
Obama, Clinton, Edwards, and any of those other socialistic cowards will pull down our defenses and leave millions of Americans at great risk of injury or death. I personally don't understand women who are against fighting these people. Their society is so oppressive against women, I can't believe that any woman would be sympathetic to them.
See the stories below to recall what occurred in Spain four years ago.]

CNN News story from 2004
Wednesday, May 5, 2004 Posted: 6:47 PM EDT (2247 GMT)
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish government officials have pinned the blame on the Basque separatist group ETA for Thursday's blasts in Madrid that killed at least 192 people, but investigators were also exploring a lead with Arabic and Islamic links.
The brazen morning rush-hour terror strikes at city train stations also wounded at least 1,400.
The initial belief among officials was that ETA, designated a terror group by the United States and the European Union, was responsible.
But Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes said authorities were investigating a van found in the town of Alcala de Henares, outside Madrid, with at least seven detonators and an Arabic tape with Koranic teachings.
The tape contained no threats and is a type available commercially. The van was stolen last month.
The new line of investigation, sparked by a citizen's tip, raised the possibility of a link to Islamic militants.
A U.S. official cautioned it was "still too early to say" whether the bombings were the work of ETA or other terror groups, including al Qaeda.
Referring to a statement that claimed responsibility and was attributed to a group allegedly affiliated with al Qaeda that was received by a London-based Arabic-language newspaper, the U.S. official said "keep in mind we often see false claims of responsibility," and that even for attacks it did commit, "al Qaeda frequently takes no public credit."
Khalid al-Shami, political editor of Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper in London, told CNN the letter was from Abu Hafs al-Masri, which he said was affiliated with al Qaeda.

From the Encyclopedia Britanica Online
Spain suffered its worst terrorist attack ever on the morning of March 11, 2004, when 13 bombs exploded on four packed commuter trains heading toward Atocha station in central Madrid, leaving more than 190 dead and more than 1,500 injured. Coming just three days before the general elections, the attack was bound to have major political consequences. The nature of these consequences, however, depended on the identity of the terrorists and the way that the conservative Popular Party (PP) government of Prime Minister José María Aznar handled the situation.
The following day an estimated 11 million Spaniards turned out to nationwide government-sponsored demonstrations. This display of national unity rapidly broke down, however, as the police investigation began to focus on the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda. On March 13, as the first arrests of Islamist suspects were being made, the government continued to point the finger at ETA. That evening spontaneous, illegal protests took place in Madrid, Barcelona, and other cities as demonstrators chanted, “We want to know the truth before we vote.” With some 90% of Spaniards opposed to Aznar's support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Islamic connection inevitably put Iraq back on top of the political agenda, which thereby favoured the opposition Socialist Party (PSOE), which had strongly opposed the war.
The March 11 attack and the government's bungled response to it undoubtedly contributed to the Socialists' surprise electoral victory on March 14. The PSOE took 42.6% of the vote and 164 of the 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies, compared with the PP's 37.6% and 148 seats. The Socialists easily negotiated the support of various minority leftist and nationalist parties for the investiture of their young leader, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (see Biographies), as prime minister. Zapatero was formally sworn in by King Juan Carlos on April 17.
Police investigations and a subsequent parliamentary inquiry confirmed the al-Qaeda connection and identified possible intelligence and security failings prior to March. More suspects, mainly Moroccans and Algerians, were arrested in October, and plans were uncovered for additional attacks on other targets in Madrid.
The new government lost no time in carrying out one of its main electoral pledges, withdrawing the 1,300 Spanish troops stationed in Iraq. This and the Socialists' realignment with the “Old Europe” of France and Germany inevitably damaged relations with Washington. The breach appeared to widen in September when Zapatero gave a speech in Tunisia encouraging other countries to follow Spain's example. In October the U.S. ambassador's failure to attend the military parade and reception held to celebrate Spain's national holiday confirmed the strains in bilateral relations. The government put on a brave face after the reelection of U.S. Pres. George W. Bush on November 2, emphasizing Zapatero's desire for renewed cooperation between the two countries.