Free Republic

On March 11, Spain suffered the worst terrorist attack in its history and one of the bloodiest the world has ever known. Terrorists planned their cowardly acts with the express purpose of killing as many people as possible, in order to sow terror and strike a mortal blow against our freedoms and rights. It was a day we felt an immense pain, pain we will never forget. But it was also a pain we must all learn from. Its lessons are simple. If we want to stop terrorists from murdering us and from dictating how we lead our lives, we...

The terrorist attacks in Madrid struck at the heart of Europe. Almost 200 people died, over 2,000 were injured and thousands more traumatized. Europeans quickly swore they would fight terrorism together. But one year later, only a few parts of the plan have been implemented. And experts believe the next major attack will also be in Europe. It is impossible to say, today, whether such a law could have hindered the March 11, 2004 attacks in Madrid — whether the 191 people killed would still be alive, and whether the attackers could have been captured before they managed to blow...

SPAIN'S Islamic Commission said today it was issuing a decree against al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, in the name of whose network last year's Madrid train bombings were claimed. "We are going to issue a fatwa (religious decree) against bin Laden this afternoon," said Mansour Escudero, who leads the Federation of Islamic religious entities (Feeri) and is co-secretary general of the Spanish governmenmt-created commission. The commission invited Spanish-based imams (clerics) to condemn terrorism at Friday prayers, when the whole country will be remembering the 191 people who were killed in the train blasts and the 1900 injured exactly 12 months...

WASHINGTON-US President George W Bush sent a message of condolences to the Spanish people on the eve of the anniversary of the country's worst terrorist attacks. But Bush sent the message to the Spanish media, apparently bypassing the Spanish Socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Bush and Zapatero have not enjoyed the best of relations since the Spanish premier withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq last year a month after being elected in a shock victory on 14 March. Despite a brief meeting in Brussels earlier this month, the two leaders have not spoken since Zapatero became prime minister. Bush...

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain solemnly commemorated the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings on Friday with church bells and silent tributes to the 191 people who died in al Qaeda's worst attack in Europe. Reuters Photo Slideshow: Madrid Remembers Train Bomb Victims Annan Urges Action On Nuke Terror Threat(Reuters Video)   Some 650 churches throughout the Madrid area rang their bells for five minutes from 7:37 a.m. (1:37 a.m. EST), the time that 10 bombs packed in rucksacks began exploding on four packed trains bringing workers to the capital. Just after dawn at Atocha station, scene of two of...

MADRID (AFX) - Spain's Islamic Commission, which groups the nation's Muslim community, said it was issuing a fatwa against Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, 'We are going to issue a fatwa (religious decree) against Bin Laden this afternoon,' Mansour Escudero, who leads the Federation of Islamic religious entities (Feeri) and co-secretary general of the Spanish governmenmt-created Commission told AFP. The Commission invited Spanish-based imams to condemn terrorism at Friday prayers, when the whole country will be remembering the 191 people who were killed in the train blasts and the 1,900 injured a year ago. The attacks have been blamed on...

PILAR MANJÓN, eyes closed, slowly recalls her last few moments with her son. Daniel was late for his train to Madrid. He brushed his mother’s cheek with a kiss, promising to chat when he got home that evening. But three minutes after easing his way inside the crowded compartment at Vallecas station, the 20-year-old university student was torn to shreds by a rucksack bomb. The gifted athlete was among 191 commuters murdered that spring morning. His mother remembers hearing the first radio reports of the attacks at 7.50am. “I can’t explain why but my heart told me my Daniel was...

MADRID (Reuters) - The Madrid train bombers had detailed plans of New York's Grand Central Station, indicating they also planned to attack there, a Spanish newspaper reported Wednesday. Hand-made drawings and other "highly specialized technical information" about the station were found on a computer disk seized from the home of one of the suspects, El Mundo reported, citing sources close to the investigation. The disk was confiscated within two weeks of the attacks on March 11, 2004, that killed 191 people in Madrid, but Spanish investigators did not warn the FBI and the CIA until December when the full scope...

I heard on an "end of the year summary" that 3/11 Spain 2004, occurred 911 days after 9/11 2001. If true, is anyone concerned that it will soon be 311 days since 3/11. No, I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I'd be happy to see it debunked. I'm just curious, and perhaps behind the times.

MADRID- Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero blamed Islamic radicals linked to Al-Qaeda for the March 11 attacks that killed 191 people in Madrid and called for a cross-party pact against international terrorism. The socialist leader also hit out at the previous right-wing government of Jose Maria Aznar for trying to pin responsibility on the Basque separatist group ETA and wiping out evidence of its actions at the time of the attacks. And he slammed the United States for suggesting the outrage had cowed the Spanish people into ousting Aznar, Washington's strong ally in the war in Iraq, at...

After a terrorist attack by al-Qaida that left hundreds of their fellow countrymen dead, Spanish voters immediately voted to give the terrorists what they want – a socialist government that opposes America's war on terrorism. Al-Qaida has changed a government. Until the bombings last week, the center-right Popular Party of outgoing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar had been sailing to victory. But then the al-Qaida bombs went off and Spaniards turned out in droves to vote against the government that had been a staunch Bush ally in the war on terrorism. (I guess it's OK for a Spanish socialist to...

SIX months on from the March 11 train bombings which killed 191 people and injured 1,200 in Spain's worst terror attack, commuters using the routes targeted have long steeled themselves to resuming their trips to work - but the attacks remain imprinted on their memory. Day after day they travel into the capital just after seven in the morning, some passengers dozing by the window, most just reading the paper in studied silence, the rustle as they turn the pages interrupted only by a monotonous voice announcing the next stop over the intercom. But ask them their feelings about the...

Donald Sensing, who points out that the attack on Madrid was planned two and half years before the event. Long before Operation Iraqi Freedom, before Spanish participation in Iraq, bomber Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed was planning to kill people in Spain.

PARIS (AFP) - Al-Qaeda reportedly planned to target Spain as the weakest link of the coalition in Iraq to force its troop pullout, according to a document from the terror network. "We consider that the Spanish government cannot suffer more than two to three strikes before pulling out (of Iraq) under pressure from its own people," said the document obtained Wednesday by AFP from Raido France International's regional office in Beirut. "If these (Spanish) forces remain after the strikes, the victory of the socialist party would be near-guaranteed and the pullout of Spanish forces from Iraq would be on its...

I don’t remember having smelled so much hashish in the streets of Madrid on my last research trip here three years ago. This time it seems that there are few sixteen- to twenty-year-olds on the street who are not either rolling or smoking a joint. I happen to live in one of the better neighborhoods of central Madrid, less than a kilometer from Atocha Station, and about five minutes’ leisurely walk from Lope de Vega’s house, the Royal Academy of History, and the convent in which Cervantes is interred. And all of these sites are perfumed by the less than...

Evidence has emerged that points to collusion between Basque separatists and al-Qaeda THE first evidence of collaboration between Islamic terrorists and Eta, the Basque separatist group, was published in Spain yesterday, helping to explain why José María Aznar, the former Prime Minister, was so quick to blame Eta for the March 11 Madrid train bombings, despite clues emerging within hours of the atrocity that indicated the involvement of extremist Muslims. Letters between senior members of the two groups were published by the leading Spanish newspaper El Mundo, which said the previous Government’s awareness of the contacts was one reason that...

The Jihadist MutationThe Jihadist Mutation The coordinated train bombings in Madrid that killed 200 and injured roughly 1,600 have already had a greater impact on the world than any terrorist attack since 9/11, altering Europe's political structure, shaking global financial markets and unsettling the U.S. coalition in Iraq. While the only groups to have claimed responsibility say they represent al-Qaeda, and the attacks are clearly consistent with jihadist doctrine and aims, operating in al-Qaeda's name does not mean that Osama bin Laden commands or controls. For the last year, jihadist writings about Spain have focused on the outgoing Spanish government's...

Americans don't get Europe. On the day of the Madrid massacre, I received a ton of e-mails from US readers along the lines of: "3/11 is Europe's 9/11. Even the French will be in." Friends told me, "The Europeans get it now." Doughty warriors of the blogosphere posted the Spanish flag on their home pages in solidarity with our loyal allies in the war against terrorism. John Ellis, a savvy guy with a smart website, declared that "Every member state of the EU understands that Madrid is Rome is Berlin is Amsterdam is Paris is London is New York." All...

The attack on March 11th was much more than an act of terrorism against innocent commuters. Even more, its repercussions are not confined to Spain alone. Everything appears to indicate that the authors of the massacre were Islamic fundamentalists.If this is true then Al Qaeda will have crossed the Rubicon and carried out its first attack on European soil. Furthermore it cannot be said that it was held back by a lack of capacity. Rather, it appears that until now this kind of agression did not suit its plans. In recent years the Spanish intelligence community believed that this country...

It’s not too early to draw some lessons from the Madrid attacks of 11 March. For al-Qai’da, the attacks and subsequent Socialist victory were a vindication of its basic strategy. They proved that a Western nation can be forced into retreat by a well-timed terrorist attack, one calibrated to inflict as much death as possible. There are plenty in the al-Qai’da leadership who believe Spain’s appeasement is a harbinger of things to come, and that America’s forceful response to 911 will wind up being a one-time fluke. Osama and company have reason for hope, thanks to the Spanish electorate. For...