(BREAKING) ARABIC TAPE AND DETONATORS FOUND IN VAN IN MADRID - SPANISH MINISTER

Reuters ^ | 11 march, 2004 | Skynews

[Eurotwit]

Sky News just reported that a Spanish minister has just announced that an arabic tape (?) and detontator where found in a van in Madrid.

[HardStarboard]

UhhhOh, bin Laden is up to his old tricks. I propose that Bush appoint Kerry to head up the negotiating team to try and reason with al Qaeda.

Surely they can be persuaded to mend their ways by an accomplished and reasonable Statesman Of The World like John Kerry.

[thoughtomator]

Astute but erroneous.

[metesky]

No linguistic connection, from what I understand.

[omega4412]

A book on the Basques said that the Basque word for ceiling is "roof of the cave"

[Fierce Allegiance]

I am surprised to not see a pic of a roll of aribic duct tape from either of you on this thread.

[sarasota]

I thought the same thing: a calling card.

[NYC GOP Chick]

At the same time, however, Spanish officials were also very clear about the bombing not following "standard" ETA practices -- so I'll give them credit for rational thought processes.

Multiple simultaneous attacks are a Qaeda trademark. I don't know much about ETA, but it's common practice for various terrorist groups to occasionally collaborate.

[Beenthere1]

"Matamoros" is a not uncommon name in old Spain - the Islamicists will regret this one...

I got a feeling that they will start living up to their name again.

[swarthyguy]

Never forget the sarc tag.

[BushMeister]

This looked like Al Qaeda to me from the get-go. Simply too much carnage and too many innocent people killed to be a Basque attack. Yes, it's possible that this is a cooperative effort between the Islamists and ETA, but I'm still leaning towards the Islamic angle.

If the Basques have a problem being part of Spain, which is a democratic country and a Constitutional Monarchy, they should work within the political system. The more radical elements will target Spanish politicians and officials, which, while reprehensible, is at least understandable. Occasionally, the Basques have staged attacks on civilians in order to gain attention to their cause. But these attacks today are an absolute act of war. And the multiple nature of the attacks, and multiple bombings within each attack, seem more like Al Qaeda than ETA. More on the Basques:

Basques

[jpl]

It might still be premature to say definitively one way or the other, but if in fact it does come out conclusively that this incident was the work of a Muslim terrorist organization, I guarantee you won't see HK around this place for a while.

[kaylar]

I just did a google search on Mufridoon. It's an Arabic word that means "Those that single themselves out".

Nawawi writes in 'SharH SaHeeH Muslim', Bk. 48, Ch. 1, Hadith 4: "Some pronounced it 'mufridoon' (= those who single out themselves)... Ibn Qutayba and others said: 'The original meaning of this is those whose relatives have died and they have become single (in the world) with regard to their passing from them, so they have remained remembering God the Exalted.' Another narration has: 'They are those who (perpetually) shake at the mention or remembrance of God (hum al- ladheena ihtazzu fi dhikrillah),' that is, they have become fervently devoted and attached to His remembrance (lahaju bihi). Ibn al-I`raabi said: 'It is said that "a man becomes single" (farada al-rajul) when he becomes learned, isolates himself, and concerns himself exclusively with the observance of God's orders and prohibitions (tafaqqaha wa i`tazala wa khala bi muraa`aat al-amr wa al-nahi).'"]

[katana]

Correction please. The Basque people are not and never were related to the Arabs who ruled Spain from around 700 to 1492 AD (I don't do "Common Era"). The ETA movement started as a reaction to Franco's rule but, like the IRA in Ireland, it is now a hard core Leninist terror group with an agenda and momentum of its own. They are not "good guys" but this kind of coordinated civilian carnage would be a new tactic for them.

Maybe the idea was to damage the governing conservatives in next week's election, but it's likely to have the opposite effect. I'd think the first reaction of most Spaniards will be to back up whichever party is going to come down hardest on the perpetrators.

[Aquinasfan]

Since when is Spain the great satan?

Might have something to do with the Inquisition. It took Spain 800 years to drive the Mohammedans out of Spain. Some Mohammedans regard this land as rightfully theirs, since the land was once Mohammedan. Once Mohammedan, always Mohammedan. Of course, this could apply to all of Europe up to Vienna, Austria, since this was the high watermark of Mohammedan (Ottoman) expansion.

[Sender]

Sure hope the tape has some good clues that will halt some future operation.

Clue: Anyone claiming to be God that wants you to blow up innocent people is not God.

[1Old Pro]

Pretty soon the whole world will be behind Bush and the international war on terrorists.

[Mike Darancette]

Since when is Spain the great satan?

Spain has a lot longer and bloodier history with Islam than the USA.

[retrokitten]

Why wasnt I informed of this change?

I'll put you on the "great Satan" ping list so you will be in the loop from now on. ;-)

[RUCKUS INC.]

Clearly the Bush administration planted the tapes in an effort to bolster more support for the war on terror... Geez guys didn't Mel Gibson teach you anything in Conspiracy Theory???

[AmishDude]

I'll miss that fat, orange, bald dope.

He may be a liberal (and a sanctamonious one at that) but he was a fun listen.