[Steve_Seattle]

The Spanish electorate fell for the oldest trick in the Islamist book: to describe our latest effort to combat terror (in this case, the war in Iraq) as the CAUSE of all the terror that preceded it. It is the same with the Israeli fence: this latest Israeli effort to combat terrorism is now cited as the CAUSE of all the terrorism which preceded it. It is a silly, teenage-girl way of arguing, but the Spaniards fell for it, just as much of "respectable" liberal opinion always falls for it.

[syriacus]

The Spanish electorate fell for the oldest trick in the Islamist book: to describe our latest effort to combat terror (in this case, the war in Iraq) as the CAUSE of all the terror that preceded it.

Exactly. Islamist tricks sound like abusive spouses' tricks.

1. Blame the victims and say they "asked for" the beatings.
2. Tell the victims not to call the police (in this case, the US military).
3. Play one person off against the other. (Don't worry, if you keep quiet, I'll attack someone other than you.)