Spain’s “Terrorgate”? Investigating 3/11.

NRO ^ | May 18, 2005, 12:46 p.m. | Frank J. Gaffney

[.cnI redruM]

It has long been understood that the Spanish socialists shamelessly exploited the March 11, 2004, terrorist attacks in Madrid’s train station for political advantage. They did so with palpable disregard for a frightening fact: The far-reaching geostrategic repercussions of that incident — which vaporized the ruling conservative party’s electoral lead just days before the polling — gave those seeking similar results elsewhere every incentive to engage in violence against other democracies’ electoral processes.

But what if the perpetrators were neither Islamofacists, as the winning socialists immediately asserted, nor the Basque terrorist organization known as ETA, as the government of José Maria Aznar initially (and fatally) assumed?

On May 16, the Madrid daily El Mundo published an investigative report that is potentially as explosive as the 3/11 attacks themselves: It suggests that, almost immediately after the 12 bombs went off in one of the city’s busiest train stations, some in the Spanish police force fabricated, and then publicized, evidence. The object seems to have been to support the oppositions’ claims that Islamists angry over the government’s support for the war in Iraq were responsible.

At worst, the information uncovered by El Mundo could mean that the deadly bombing was actually perpetrated with the complicity of the same Spanish police bomb squad, Tedax, that was subsequently charged with investigating the crime.

Either way, if the leads published in recent days pan out, it would appear that Spain’s 2004 elections were stolen by terrorists, alright. But the terrorist operation that brought the socialists to power may have been an inside job — in effect, a coup perpetrated by some of the same authorities who are responsible for preventing terror. Explosive stuff, if true. But all preliminary and speculative right now.

A blogger who writes under the name of Franco Alemán has helpfully interpreted and called the English-speaking Internet’s attention to Monday’s article written by El Mundo’s Fernando Múgica. Highlights include the following:

Questions have been raised about the actual provenance of a knapsack dubbed “Backpack 13” and its contents (plastic explosive, a cell phone used as a trigger, and nails and bolts that would act as shrapnel to maximize the bomb’s destructive effect). Shortly after the 3/11 attack, ABC News showed what it claimed as “exclusive” footage of both the purported backpack and its unexploded innards. Alemán’s posting says:

According to reporter Fernando Múgica in the Spanish daily El Mundo. According to Múgica, at a Madrid police station “the officers wanted to help the ABC reporters, but when the camera crew came, they didn't have the backpack that had contained the bomb there, so one of the officers showed them a similar backpack which was the property of another officer.” Said Mugica, “I don't know whether the network knew this or simply accepted that the bag they were shown was the real one.”

Alemán says the journalistic investigation revealed that “the Tedax officers hid for three months [from] the investigating judge that an X-ray done to the real (not to the [one] staged for ABC) backpack showed that there was no way it could have ever exploded since it had unconnected cables. Something odd, since it had always been said that the bombers were technically proficient.”

It seems that a phonebook belonging to Carmen Toro, allegedly one of the men who supplied the explosive used in the 3/11 attacks, contained the cellphone number for Tedax’s chief. What is more, Alemán’s posting incredulously recounts how, “When the investigating judge called the number, a chief's aide answered the phone and said that it belonged to one of the guys in the squad, ‘who used the boss' name as a nickname.’”

The claim that the Aznar government wrongly — and for political reasons — initially blamed ETA for the attacks rests on two propositions derived from Backpack 13’s contents: The nature of the explosive and evidence associated with its cellphone trigger.

The type of explosive found in the alleged bombers’ backpack was a plastic known as Goma 2 ECO, rather than the Tytadine that ETA had employed in its prior attacks. Alemán notes, however, that “the conclusion that the exploded backpacks had Goma 2 ECO in it was made because of what was found on the unexploded one — not on actual forensic analysis of the explosion site, since apparently once it's gone off it's absolutely impossible to know for sure, [since] both Goma 2 ECO and Tytadine [are] two brands of generic dynamite.”

The phone provided three pieces of incriminating evidence. First of all, on it were found to the fingerprints of one Jamal Zougam, the ringleader of the Islamist “Lavapies” cell now blamed for the Madrid attack.

Second, the phone was supposed to be activated by its alarm and then vibrate, causing the plastic explosive to detonate. Since the bombers apparently made a novice’s mistake by failing to connect the wires from the phone to the explosive with electrical tape, even the slightest movement of the backpack would likely prevent the cellphone’s signal from setting off the bomb.

Even more curious is the fact that the phone in the Backpack #13 was a Mitsubishi Trium, one of very few on the market that require a SIM card to operate the alarm. Since, as Alemán notes, “it was the analysis of the SIM card which, less than 48 hours after the blasts, allowed the police to arrest the alleged perpetrators,” the question occurs: Why would terrorists who owned a cellphone shop and are deemed to be very technically proficient deliberately choose to use a device that would lead the police to their door?

Speaking of cellphones, the Alemán blog titillates readers by offering further details from the unfolding El Mundo investigation. He reports that:

Cellphones used for March 11 were unlocked in a phone shop owned by... a Spanish police officer. And not just any police officer: It was Maussili Kalaji, a Syrian born citizen who had been granted Spanish citizenship several years ago and entered the police department when he arrived in Spain [despite] his past as an Al Fatah member and as an agent for the Soviets' intelligence services.

Apparently as soon as [Kalaji] left the [Spanish] police academy, he was assigned to infiltrate extremist groups and so he got acquainted with such nice guys as Abu Dadah, currently under trial for the 9/11 plot and who will be on trial again in the future for his role on March 11. He also was assigned to the security detail of Judge Garzón, now on leave and teaching at a New York university — who insisted that, no matter what Aznar was saying on March 11, he knew from minute 1 that…the bombings had been by Islamic terrorists, not ETA. I think we know now why.

And that's not all: Kalaji's sister was the translator for the police in charge of translat[ing] the wiretapped conversations between the alleged March 11 culprits before the bombings. And his ex-wife, also a police officer, was the first to arrive at the scene where another key [piece of] evidence pointing to Islamic terrorists and not ETA was found: a white van with detonators and some tapes with Koranic verses. Socialists blame Aznar's government for hiding this but, of course, maybe its guys got there first....

The evidence presented thus far by El Mundo is, to be sure, inconclusive. Yet, it strongly suggests that at least some in the Spanish police may know considerably more about who was really behind the 3/11 bombings — attacks that undid the electoral fortunes of the Spanish government, brought to power socialists hostile to its most important domestic and foreign policies and precipitated changes in those policies that could only encourage terrorists to interfere in elections elsewhere.

Given the stakes for Spain, for its relations with the United States, and for the democratic world more generally, there should be few higher priorities than getting to the bottom of what may be Spain’s Terrorgate. As the current Spanish government might have reasons for resisting a no-holds-barred investigation, and those in Washington anxious to foster improved bilateral ties may be reluctant to press for one, it may fall to the sorts of citizen-activists and bloggers who thwarted Dan Rather’s notorious attempt to hijack America’s exercise of democracy in 2004 to find out precisely what happened to its Spanish counterpart.

[.cnI redruM]

This is good tinfoil hat stuff....

[marron]

ping

[Squawk 8888]

Interesting, but Occam sez the terrorists were hoping to scare the Spanish public out of the Iraq war and succeeded.

[livius]

Thanks for the ping!

There's all sorts of mysterious undercurrents in the March 11 bombing. From what I have read over the last year or so, some of it can be attributed to ineptitude on the part of the police. But there are definitely more sinister things.

For one thing, certain of Spain's police forces and the Intelligence service hated Aznar because he had reorganized them. They clearly wanted him to look bad after the bombing, and in one case even called the press with various details before they even relayed them to Aznar.

Furthermore, I think there was infiltration of the police by Islamists, and there are all sorts of strange connections that keep emerging there. And not only in Madrid - there are connections in Asturias, where the explosives came from. Plus there was the strange event where the girlfriend of one of the men who stole and sold the dynamite drowned herself in the harbor at Gijon while the police (who had been criticized for their prior involvement with the dynamite thief) stood on the boardwalk and watched her thrashing around - for 45 minutes.

ETA was also definitely involved, and one thing that people are not remarking on is that ETA is suddenly getting everything it has always wanted from the Zapatero government, and will probably actually manage to get Pais Vasco given to it. A reward, I assume.

Overall it's a really creepy, involved plot, and nothing would surprise me.

[Tolik]

Here is this blog in English with links to the original Spanish: Barcepundit

[Tolik]

More:

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

FRANK J. GAFFNEY, of the Center for Security Policy, has written an article, "Spain's 'Terrorgate'", on the National Review, based on the information I posted here about the murky developments discovered by the Madrid's newspaper El Mundo. He has kind words for us, which we truly appreciate. I'm sure he'll be also interested in today's updates here and here.

Fausta has told me she's going to translate more; I'll keep you updated.

posted by FrancoAlemán at 8:30 PM

 

[billorites]

For anyone who reads Spanish here's a reprint of the original El Mundo story.

Haz clik aqui.

[Tolik]

http://barcepundit-english.blogspot.com/2005/05/one-and-only-fausta-of-bad-hair-blog.html

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

THE ONE AND ONLY FAUSTA, of The Bad Hair Blog, has kindly sent the translation of the Libertad Digital article I mentioned in the post below; I decided to put it in a separate, brand new entry so that it doesn't get buried at the end of the previous post. Thank, Fausta, for the translation!

Here it is:

The Kalaji family and March 11: from cell phones, to translations, to the van in Alcalá

While on Monday we found out about the mysteries surrounding knapsack #13 of the terrorist blasts, this Tuesday [Spanish daily] El Mundo reveals surprising new information on the March 11 investigation. The cell phones in the knapsack bombs came from a store owned by Maussili Kalaji, a Syrian officer in the [Spanish] national police, who went from Al Fatah to working as bodyguard for [magistrate] Garzón. The cards in those phones led to the apartment in Leganés. Kalaji’s sister translated The Tunisian’s conversations, and his ex-wife was one of the police officers who first arrived to the van in Alcalá.

Maussili Kalaji, 46-yr old Syrian, has an extensive background. As a youth he was a member of Al Fatah, which back then was one of the most important terrorist groups in the Middle East. Kalaji trained in weapons and explosives in one of the Al Fatah campgrounds. During his tour of the Soviet Union he perfected his training as a secret agent.

According to journalist Antonio Rubio, Maussili Kalaji’s journey in our country starts in 1981 when, having just arrived in Spain, he obtained political refugee status. In 1984 he received Spanish citizenship “for services rendered” to this country, supposedly from information he gave to the secret services. Five years later he joined the National Police’s basic service. After that he rose meteorically in the Fuerzas de Seguridad (Security Forces).

From the basic service he progressed to the Comisaría General de Información (General Information Office), and from there to the Unidad Central de Información Exterior (UCIE), (Central Exterior Information Unit) -- the Unit which later would investigate the March 11 (3-11) explosions. From there he transferred to the Judicial Police Brigade and the [police’s] Minor’s Unit. Lastly, Kalaji ends up as bodyguard for Baltasar Garzón, the National Audience’s (the highest court dealing with terrorism, Supreme court excepted) Magistrate.

According to El Mundo, in 1989 the Syrian-Spaniard took part in a very important operation against Islamic terrorism in the port of Valencia, which uncovered a shipment of explosives camouflaged as tin cans. Baltasar Garzón himself praised this operation on his testimony at the March11 Commission. A year later, Kalaji received a public commendation from the Minister of the Interior. Apparently, it was an informant, Mohamed Arabi, who alerted the police about the shipment coming from Lebanon. The eight detainees from the operation were members of Hezbollah, and four of them were Iraqis. The explosives would have been used in attempts against American, French, Kuwaiti, and Saudi Arabian embassies in Europe.

That same informant, Mohamed Arabi, took part in November 2001 on the Operación Dátil (Operation Date), during which were detained the people accused that are now on trial for their participation in 9-11 attack in the USA. The cell’s leader is, Abu Dada, which whom agent Kalaji was on friendly terms. During Operación Dátil the informant Arabi was arrested, but thanks to Kalaji’s intervention before Judge Garzón, Arabi was set free.

On to March 11 La Razón broke the news to the media in the middle of the 3-11 investigations. The cell phones used in the knapsack bombs came from a store owned by a policeman. The phones were purchased at a shop owned by Indian citizens, and in Kalaji’s business the phones’ internal codes were reset so they could be used by other phone services. When this fact was discovered, agent Kalaji was taken to Canillas station for a deposition. As reported then, once it was established that his shop only did something considered routine in that type of store, and not illegal, the Syrian-Spaniard was free.

The family coincidences don’t stop there. As it turns out, agent Marisol Kalaji, Kalaji’s wife, was one of the police officers that had access on 3-11 to the van in Alcalá. If, thanks to the cards sold in the policeman’s store, the GEO [Spain's police elite squad, like SWAT teams] found out about the Leganés apartment – where the Islamic terrorists later died in an explosion –, thanks to the discovery of the Kangoo van there was access to the Koran tapes, which strengthened the Islamic leads over the ETA.

Once the Islamic terrorists blew themselves up in Leganés, agent Kalaji asked for leave from the Madrid Judicial Brigade. Right now he’s on leave due to depression, even when some who know Kalaji have said, according to El Mundo, that the policeman has been separated by his supervisors because he’d become an uncomfortable witness for some in charge at the Comisaría General de Información (General Information Office), of whom Telesforo Rubio is director. The statements that Kalaji, who had been watched by his fellow officers and the CNI [National Intelligence Center, the Spanish equivalent to the CIA], made to judge Juan Del Olmo remain secret by judicial decree.

As you-know-who would say: developing...

[Hayzo]

Fankly, this sounds like the 'Bush knew'conspiracies of 9/11. Only it is being perpetrated by the Right. There is know doubt that the islamists had motive to do this. Would a bunch of socialists, as vile as their politics are, perpetrate an act on their own people to gain political power.

Oops! I better stop or i'll kill my initial statement! =)

[.cnI redruM]

>>>>Would a bunch of socialists, as vile as their politics are, perpetrate an act on their own people to gain political power.

In a word, Yes!

[inquest]

In a word, Yes!

At the top of the thread you said this was good tinfoil hat stuff. Does this mean you've labeled yourself a "tinfoiler"?

[q_an_a]

makes you want to puke if it is true. it also makes Harry Reid look like a piker compared to what the spanish socilaists have pulled off.

[marron]

ping

see also http://barcepundit-english.blogspot.com/2005/05/et-tu-abc-shortly-after-march-11-abc.html

[marron]

Thanks for the follow-up. I periodically scan the ABC (Madrid) headlines, but I completely missed this story. Maybe I should be following El Mundo and Barcepundit instead...

[Tolik]

I will have to follow Barcepundit: looks like our kind of guy and I don't know Spanish (only Russian and Ukrainian).

[chpmass]

Eerie stuff, especially considering El Mundo is definitely not a right wing paper.

[Cicero]

I would add one more small straw to the pile. I admired the Spanish police for their continuing work tracking down and arresting the perpetrators after the Muslim friendly Socialists under Aznar came into power. Seemingly Aznar knuckled under to the terrorists but the police did not.

I did sometimes wonder, however, how the Spanish police could act so independently of the new government, since Aznar is clearly a control freak. If the police were complicit and working with Aznar, that would certainly explain that little mystery. They weren't working in defiance of the new Prime Minister, they were working for him all along.

[livius]

Huh? I think you mean Zapatero - Aznar was the former PM, who was NOT a Socialist. The current one, who is a Socialist and was elected after March 11, is Zapatero. And he's really, really bad news.

[mabelkitty]

It sure explains a lot, though, doesn't it?

[mabelkitty]

Some days I think I have nothing left to puke, and lo and behold, one comes across a story like this and that G-d that we only have to deal with panty-waist liberals.