Spain's spies see Muslims behind attack-radio

Yahoo UK ^ | 3/13/04 | Yahoo UK

[TrebleRebel]

Spain's spies see Muslims behind attack-radio

Saturday March 13, 03:36 PM

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's intelligence service is "99 percent certain" that radical Muslims and not the Basque separatist group ETA are responsible for the train bombings that killed 200 people, a Spanish radio station has reported.

Private radio SER, whose owners have links to the opposition Socialist Party, said the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) believes the evidence points to an Islamic group, and that 10 to 15 people left bombs on the trains and fled, the radio said on Saturday.

The centre-right government, facing an election on Sunday, has said ETA is the prime suspect.

[Allan]

According to John Loftus
on WABC radio
it was the work of Algerian and Moroccan Arabs.

[The Magical Mischief Tour]

And this is supposed to come as a total suprise to us...

[maquiladora]

Sky News said this morning that the guys that got on the trains and planted the bombs were seen leaving a van which when taken away by cops later had detonators and an audio tape with Islamic readings and a message from Bin Laden.

Also the tests carried out on unexploded devices have shown that the switches and dentantors are not those used by ETA, and there was sharpnel (bags of nails etc) packed around the explosives, again not very much like ETA at all.

[Fiddlstix]

[Aquinasfan]

And this is supposed to come as a total suprise to us...

I'm shocked, SHOCKED!

[steveegg]

Expect the Spaniards to admit this Monday.

[John Thornton]

My gosh. *Muslims*? Who'da thunk it?

[F16Fighter]

I'd expect many Spaniards to take matters into their own hands when the official sh*t news hits the fan.

[OXENinFLA]

UK-based Islamists disagree on Al-Qaeda's Madrid attack claim

[mrtysmm]

I too am shocked......and saddened! BTW...according to some in the Yahoo chat rooms...the hate Bush chat rooms that is, it was the CIA and GWBush who are responsible for the bombings. They claim that the timing is very suspect, therefore Bush is responsible. Somehow I figured that Bush would be blamed.

[Nexus]

It couldn't have been Al-Qaeda. The explosives were Spanish in origin! /sarcasm

You know, Al-Qaeda's trademark is always imported Canadian dynamite! (ie patty, not stick form)

[Bogey78O]

I think the attack was a mafia style warning. Most of Spain was against the war. They're banking on this attack to havng weakened their resolve. It works in the middle east and parts of Europe.

[cripplecreek]

FOX just reported that the word is that the spanish intell seems to confirm islamic radicals but havent said so yet.

[Nexus]

according to some in the Yahoo chat rooms

They're also blaming Repubs for the mass murder in Fresno. Insane.

[Bogey78O]

All Anti-Bush screeds online follow this format.

The Universal DU thread

[Iberian]

They have no choice but to admit the truth. My gut feeling is that ETA may do a little Muslim hunting of their own.
ETA does not need or want any outside help and they don't want others in the playground.

[Cultural Jihad]

BTW...according to some in the Yahoo chat rooms...the hate Bush chat rooms that is, it was the CIA and GWBush who are responsible for the bombings. They claim that the timing is very suspect, therefore Bush is responsible. Somehow I figured that Bush would be blamed.

The scary thing is there's not a lot of difference between someone who would think that American leadership would murder 200 people in Madrid for political gain, and someone who actually sets the bombs. Both mindsets require a high degree of separation from reality.

[F16Fighter]

"I think the attack was a mafia style warning. Most of Spain was against the war. They're banking on this attack to havng weakened their resolve. It works in the middle east and parts of Europe."

This kind of intimidation would easily work in France, but I think the Islamofascists misunderstand and underestimate the temperment and emotion of Spaniards -- they are seriously PO'd.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear of country-wide vigilantism taking place soon against its Muslim "citizenry."

[NYC GOP Chick]

No kidding. I figured that out as soon as I heard the horrible news. Simultaneous explosions, targeting lots of innocents -- all qaeda trademarks.

[NYC GOP Chick]

there was sharpnel (bags of nails etc) packed around the explosives, again not very much like ETA at all.

Interesting. That's what the so-called palis do when they go out to slaughter Israeli citizens.

[NYC GOP Chick]

ETA does not need or want any outside help and they don't want others in the playground.

ETA probably doesn't want to face the wrath of a very pissed off government (and citizenry) for a particularly brutal attack, especially one on so many innocent civilians.

[Bogey78O]

The African embassy bombing is very similar in effort.

[NYC GOP Chick]

You mean the TWO simultaneous embassy bombings in 1998?

Too bad we didn't take care of UBL back then...

[mewzilla]

Too bad we didn't take care of UBL back then...

Paging the 9-11 Commission...

[NYC GOP Chick]

Paging the 9-11 Commission...

Fat chance. I get the impression that they truly believe that this all happened in a vacuum, and everything that occurred prior to January 2001 is irrelevant.

[livius]

I think we're going to find that this was a joint effort. Much of ETA's old line "management" is now in jail or otherwised neutralized, and a group of younger, more radical members have taken over.

All of those catches of ETA members bringing explosives and bombs to Madrid, trying to get them on trains, etc., were not coincidental. ETA was part of this plan, just the way McVey and his cohorts were part of the OKC Al Qaeda bombing. I think it is very possible, however, that many of the people in ETA, including the young couriers who were caught transporting the explosives, were unaware of the connection with AQ.

[Bogey78O]

Yea, timed explosions meant to inflict maximum civilian casualties and frighten the populace.

[demnomo]

I believe the current conservative government that is friendly towards the US and supported our efforts in Iraq is making a BIG Political mistake of trying to pin the blame on the ETA instead of the Islamists.

Are the Socialists pro-Muslim like most lefties are today? Do the Spanish people hate Bush like the Frenchies do? Don't these people understand who is the enemy? It's Islamofascism, not Bush or the USA?!!!

Are the Socialists saying--like John Kerry and the Democrats--that the Islamofascists will not do this evil anymore once the Socialist Party gets into power? The socialists will align themselves with the Islamofascists. Muslims will--with the "kind" help of the left--take over Spain and eventually institute Sharia.

The Spanish Conservatives are going to LOSE with this tactic since most people aren't buying the ETA-did-it argument, so vote for the Conservatives line. The Spanish voters will turn on anyone who tries to cover-up the truth of the identity of the attackers for politrical gain.

God help us all--the Socialists and their evil, blackmailing Islamofascist comrades will win because of this foolish strategy.

[mewzilla]

You bet. That's why Ben Veniste, Fielding, and Gorelick are there.

If I were a family member, I'd be livid.

[NYC GOP Chick]

ETA was part of this plan, just the way McVey and his cohorts were part of the OKC Al Qaeda bombing. I think it is very possible, however, that many of the people in ETA, including the young couriers who were caught transporting the explosives, were unaware of the connection with AQ.

I think you're 100% correct.

[Destro]

Private radio SER, whose owners have links to the opposition Socialist Party

No one is more eager to blame Muslims then I am but we Americans have to take our sophistication on news to a new level. The source is a LEFTIST socialist backing radio station. If the Socialists can link the 3/11 attacks on the Muslims then they can blame the current govt for it because they backed America in Iraq. That does not mean Muslims did not do it but I am weary of the news source and y'all should be too.

[NYC GOP Chick]

That's why Ben Veniste, Fielding, and Gorelick are there.

That was the first thing I noticed when this commission started -- the incredible leftist partisans.

[c-five]

May well be true, but not because any opposition political party says so, especially the socialists.

[BluH2o]

... it was the work of Algerian and Moroccan Arabs.

There is basically unrestricted free flow of people and commerce between Algeria & Morocco to southern Spain. Ferry services between Tangier's and other ports along the north coast of Africa and southern Spain abound. Algerians & Moroccan Arabs, like illegal aliens from Mexico and Central America in this country, work in low paying agricultural and construction jobs in Spain. It would not be difficult to mount the kind of terrorist attack we saw in Madrid last week.

[HarryCaul]

10-15 terrorists in a coordinated bombing attack is a huge effort. With as much planning and execution as this took, it can't be some dinky regional group.

The mind-boggling thing is that the people who did it seem to have escaped.

[Iberian]

This is no time for fiction.

[VRWC_minion]

They claim that the timing is very suspect, therefore Bush is responsible

Bush is too stupid, its his "handlers" that mastermind the events.

[Eala]

Somehow I figured that Bush would be blamed.

Has al-Qerry been heard from on this yet?

[livius]

What's fictional about it? Do you follow events in Spain?

There have been several catches of ETA couriers trying to transport explosives to Madrid, one just a few days before this event. Spanish security agents also caught two separate groups of ETA members trying to get suitcase bombs onto Madrid-bound trains just before Christmas.

ETA once attempted to minimize its civilian casualties (although they were still regarded as "collateral damage," and a necessary evil in ETA's Marxist revolution), but this new group probably is more radical and less concerned about that. Also, it appears that certain members of ETA have converted to Islam.

Hardly fiction.

[mountaineer]

By Daniel Trotta
MADRID, Spain (Reuters) - Spain's intelligence service is "99 percent certain" Muslim not Basque militants perpetrated the Madrid train bombings that killed 200 people, a Spanish radio station reported on Saturday.

The report by private radio SER, whose owners have links to the opposition Socialists, flew in the face of government assertions armed group ETA was the prime suspect in the attacks that have traumatized Spain and sent jitters round the world.

It fueled grumbling from critics that Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's government might be focusing on the Basque group, rather than al Qaeda, for internal political gain ahead of Sunday's election. Ministers angrily denied the charge.

"If (they think) it is al Qaeda, nobody has told me," Interior Minister Angel Acebes said, when asked if intelligence services were tending toward blaming Islamic militants for the blasts.

Finding the culprits for Thursday's atrocity, which killed 200 people and wounded 1,500, has huge global security implications. If it was al Qaeda, it would be the first strike in the West since the September 11, 2001, attacks on America.

If it were ETA, it would be a major escalation for a group that has killed 850 people in Spain over 36 years and is listed as a terrorist group by the United States and European Union.

It could also sway Spain's general election, going ahead on Sunday as planned after three days of official mourning.

Aznar's center-right government stands to win votes if the culprits were ETA, because it has campaigned on its hardline stance against the armed Basque group, political analysts said.

"DEATH FOR TERRORISTS"

If al Qaeda or other radical Islamic groups were shown to be involved, voters might perceive the attacks as the price for Aznar's domestically unpopular support of the Iraq war. But they might also rally around a government seen as strong on security.

Citing high-ranking officials, SER radio said the National Intelligence Center (CNI) believes evidence points to an Islamic group, and that 10 to 15 people left bombs on trains and fled.

REST OF STORY - http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4561190&section=news

[My Favorite Headache]

I loved watching this an hour ago on MSNBC.They made it clear that the government is trying to pin it on ETA so they will not lose a vote tomorrow aganst Asnar's party and not Al Qaeda because that would show that Spain is on the side of the war in Iraq and Asnar would lose that vote if it turns out to be Al Qaeda.

We know its Al Qaeda. This is the purist of liberal spin and brainwashing in the face of dead bodies and 1,500 injured. Disgusting that they will play politics and not blame the terrorists who did this. I am absolutely sick to my stomach with the media and the anti-Bush idiots.

[Mitchell]

According to John Loftus
on WABC radio
it was the work of Algerian and Moroccan Arabs.

These are presumably just the grunts. Did he say who he thought might have been behind it?

[TrebleRebel]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040313/325/eog3x.html

Saturday March 13, 03:32 PM

Spanish envoys told to blame ETA
By Andrew Cawthorne


Click to enlarge photo

MADRID (Reuters) - The Spanish government told its ambassadors to spread the word that armed Basque separatist group ETA was to blame for the Madrid bombings within hours of the attacks, a leading newspaper has reported.

The report came amid increased grumbling from government critics on Saturday that Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's ruling party might be pointing the finger at ETA -- and minimising suspicions Muslim militants were involved -- for political reasons.

"You should use any opportunity to confirm ETA's responsibility for these brutal attacks, thus helping to dissipate any type of doubt that certain interested parties may want to promote," El Pais quoted Foreign Minister Ana Palacio as writing in a memo.

Foreign Ministry officials would not comment on the report in a paper linked to the opposition Socialists. "We're not denying or confirming," a spokesman said.

Simultaneous explosions on Thursday morning ripped through commuter trains, killing 200 people and wounding nearly 1,500.

As well as the huge security implications, pinning down responsibility is crucial to Sunday's general election.

If ETA is judged to blame, the ruling centre-right Popular Party could gain support because because of its tough stance against the Basque separatists.

But analysts say it could lose if al Qaeda or other radical Islamic groups were shown to be involved, as the attacks could be portrayed as retaliation for Aznar's unpopular support for war in Iraq.

El Pais said Palacio's memo, sent on Thursday afternoon, quoted earlier statements by Interior Minister Angel Acebes.

"The Interior Minister has confirmed ETA's responsibility," This is confirmed by the explosive and style used, as well as other information that has not yet been made public for obvious reasons," the text said, according to the newspaper.

Since then, the Spanish government has been less categorical in its public comments, affirming ETA remains its main line of investigation but saying it is also pursuing other theories.

The discovery of a van with detonators and a tape in Arabic, plus a purported letter claiming responsibility for a group aligned to al Qaeda, have fed suspicions of Arab involvement.

ETA denied responsibility late on Friday.

El Pais said Foreign Ministry officials would not say whether modified instructions had been sent out to ambassadors at any point after Thursday's purported memo.

Socialist candidate Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero avoided public comments on responsibility for the attacks, just calling on the government to establish the facts as quickly as possible.

"Society has the right to know who carried out this barbarity," he told reporters.

But newspaper El Mundo quoted an unnamed senior Socialist source as being less diplomatic. "I am biting my tongue all day in the face of such lies and deceit while there are 200 dead people," the source was quoted as saying.

Protesters planned a rally outside government headquarters on Saturday evening with the slogan "We Want To Know The Truth."

Chief government spokesman Eduardo Zaplano denied criticism about misinformation at a news conference on Saturday.

The bombs probe "is going ahead with absolute transparency, all the information is being transmitted to the people via the media," he said. "I don't believe any well-intentioned person can doubt that."

The Spanish government's candidate for Sunday's election, former deputy Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, said in an interview published on Saturday he was convinced ETA was to blame.

"There are some facts that, deep down, make me think it's ETA. As well as what I'm told, I have the moral conviction," Rajoy told the pro-government El Mundo newspaper.

He said ETA's denial on Friday had "no credibility".

[theFIRMbss]

>Both mindsets require a high degree of separation from reality

"Harvard's disgusting Samuel Huntington, whose 1996 anti-Islamic Clash of Civilizations tract laid the groundwork for the Cheney gang's Middle East wars, is preparing the ground for new wars ...

" ... The open letters sent to LaRouche's organizations by these self-proclaimed "anguished sons of a glorious Spanish empire," spat out the same lies as Huntington's latest drivel: that the United States is a creature of Calvinism, a bastion of Anglo-Saxon anti-Catholicism, and "the Enemy," with a capital "E," of Hispanic culture (EIR, Jan. 9 and 23, 2004).

"As EIR documented, this brand of synarchists is run by a network of Spanish imperialists; specifically, crazed Carlists seeking to restore Spain's former colonies to the Spanish Crown. Caponnetto et al. are engaged in fomenting military coups and civil wars in various countries, threatening to bury the still-independent nation-states of the region in blood." [appeared March 12 [!], 2004 issue, Gretchen Small for LaRouche]

[the Real fifi]

Since the socialists believe they win if the attack is AQ, I wouldn't give this report great weight--It's a partisan station touting a partisan cause.

[the Real fifi]

I agree--and if that is so I think it is a disaster for the Euro left.

ETA and AQ worked together before on an aborted attack on ships near Gibralter.

BTW xxhexk out today's Wash Post (A11) confirming earlier Weekly Standard articles about AQ SH connections uncovered in our own files but diregarded by the CIA(CYA)--it also confirms Mylroie's thesis that the intel establishment goofed and is doing everything it can to hide that fact.