"By preventing terrorist attacks and killing terrorists."
Yeah that's what I figured. But by that standard, Spanish involvement in the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq evidently did not prevent the attack on Madrid. Analysis of the Spanish elections is pretty subjective, my analysis was that the main effect of the attack was to boost turnout. The extra turnout was liable to be people who were anti-Aznar, but were motivated to vote by the attacks and his reaction to them.
"That's a really weak argument. Just because the Spanish haven't entirely abandoned their own domestic security means the terrorists didn't win?"
It's a pretty weak argument to say that the Spanish government took one decision (which was one the people wanted all along) which you define as surrendering to terrorism, ignoring all the other steps they continue to take to fight terrorism. As weak as arguing that the US decision to withdraw bases from Saudi Arabia (as demanded by Osama bin Laden) constitutes a surrender.
Kerry was strongly preferred among all of America's traditional allies, including Norway (74 percent compared with Bush's seven percent), Germany (74 percent to 10 percent), France (64 percent to five percent), the Netherlands (63 percent to six percent), Italy (58 percent to 14 percent) and Spain (45 percent to seven percent) . . . Strongest negative views on US foreign policy were held in Germany, with 83 percent of those polled saying "worse" followed by France (81 percent), Mexico (78 percent), China (72 percent), Canada (71 percent), Netherlands ( 71 percent), Spain (67 percent), Brazil (66 percent), Italy (66 percent), Argentina (65 percent) and Britain (64 percent).
The Eurobarometer poll of 7,500 EU residents found that 59 per cent deemed Israel "a threat to peace in the world", with the figures rising to 60 per cent in Britain, 65 in Germany, 69 in Austria and 74 in Holland.