Commentary by H.G. Listiak

Wednesday 3/17/2004

Welcome to My World, where last Thursday's terrorist attack in Spain is now pretty well thought to be the work of Al Qaeda. Thier 3-11 comes from the same cowardly Islamic extremists who engineered the 9-11 tragedy in the U.S. 200 people were killed and 1500 wounded in the bomb attack on a commuter train. But there is a lot more involved here than just another terrorist attack. A very dangerous precedent came to light just three days later when Spain's socialist opposition party, given almost no chance before the attack, won a dramatic surprise victory over the conservative standing party at the polls. The socialists rode the backlash of the attack and against Spain's participation in the war in Iraq, into the winner's circle. Their leader, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who promised to withdraw Spain's 1300 troops who are under the Polish command in Iraq, had campaigned that the Madrid terror bombings were provoked by the conservative party, part of the U.S. coalition, blaming the war in Iraq and U.S. President Bush for making Spain a target for Al Qaeda. This is not only a blow to the coalition but it also sends a bad message to these terrorist cells that they not only can get away with murdering innocent civilians, but they can also change the politics of a nation by insuring that it's citizens vote not their choices but their fears. For Spain, the vote brings about uncertainty. The socialist party, a fairly close cousin to the communists, were in power for 13 years before losing to the popular party amid economic chaos and corruption. They are back, winning the election, but at what cost? The people in Spain suffered a great loss, and in capitulating to the obvious desires of the terrorists they have set themselves and other coalition nations up for a lot more losses in the future, no matter how many troops they may recall or how much they look to organizations like the U.N. to protect them. The war in Iraq is only an excuse for the moment for Al Qaeda. They were murderers long before the war and they will continue the treachery until they are exterminated like the vermin they are. The Spanish voters did us all a disservice, as I see it ... I'm H.G. Listiak.