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Spaniards are rightly admired for their courtesy, dignity and tact. Since his unexpected triumph in the wake of the Madrid bombing, however, Spain's new Socialist prime minister-elect, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has displayed a notable absence, not only of magnanimity, but also of common sense. His first act, before even assuming office, was to demand that the American President and the British Prime Minister should engage in "self-criticism" for their decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein, accusing them of going to war "on the basis of lies". One of Mr Zapatero's colleagues, Jose Bono, recently described Tony Blair as "un gilipollas...

Annan: Spain Blaming ETA Affected Election Tuesday March 16, 2004 11:46 PM By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Writer UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday that Spain's initial insistence that Basque terrorists were behind last week's Madrid train bombings was a factor in Sunday's upset election victory by the Socialists. But he said there were other factors including strong public opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and an al-Qaida claim the bombings were punishment for Spain's support for the United States. Annan was asked if terrorism affected the election which saw Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez...

Print Article         Close Window     Spanish Flee By Reid Collins Published 3/16/2004 12:04:48 AM It works! Terrorism, that is. When applied in the right place. And the implications of the Madrid train bombing are enormous. Rather than vent their anger in the direction of terror, the Spanish electorate ousted their own conservative government in favor of socialists who promise a more benign attitude toward terror! For starters, the removal of the token force of 1,300 Spanish forces sent in as an earnest of support for the Bush administration's preemption in Iraq. Before the bombings, opinion polls had indicated...

The Spanish election results force a new priority upon us. On Spain's National Day last October there was a military parade through Madrid in which all the flags of that country's allies in Iraq were carried past an official reviewing stand. As each national flag went past, King Juan Carlos, Jose Maria Aznar, the conservative pro-American prime minister, government ministers, opposition leaders, and the assembled guests rose and stood to attention. When the Stars and Stripes were carried past, however, one guest remained firmly in his seat. He described the event as an "homage to occupying forces." And last weekend...

Spain's prime minister-elect, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, vowed to withdraw troops from Iraq and criticised US President George W. Bush after Spanish voters ousted the government that dragged their country into the controversial war. "The war in Iraq was a disaster, the occupation of Iraq is a disaster," Zapatero, 43, told Cadena Ser radio Monday. His Socialist Party on Sunday dealt the conservative Popular Party (PP) of outgoing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a surprise defeat in general elections coloured by last Thursday's bombings of crowded Madrid commuter trains that killed 200 people and wounded 1,500. An ongoing investigation into...

From the standpoint of a political campaign, the Popular Party of Spain made one of the gravest screwups in history, one that spells nothing but trouble for Spain, the United States and the security of the world. They let al-Qaeda decide who will lead their nation. When the news broke on March 11 of the terrorist bombing in Madrid, which killed two hundred people, al-Qaeda immediately claimed responsibility. But throughout the news coverage, doubt surfaced as to whether the Islamic terrorist organization was really behind the attack. "Why don't they think it was al-Qaeda?" my wife asked. "Of course it...

Madrid, March 15, 2004. In a move that pleased terrorists worldwide, today Spain surrendered without firing a shot. Even the French are laughing at them.

"Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor. They will have war." – Winston Churchill after the Munich conference, 1938. And so the Spanish have chosen; and so they will have. The lessons of history are too old, covered with cobwebs, stored somewhere in the attic of memory, belonging to generations whose time has passed. Now, again, it seems that all one has to do to ensure a bright, safe future is to hold up a sign saying "Paz", and peace it will be. Peace in our time. The dead of March 11 not yet...

A woman hold a banner reading 'Could this picture have cost 200 deaths?' during a silent march through central Barcelona March 12, 2004. Traumatized Spaniards voted in droves in a general election thrown wide open by a new claim that al Qaeda rather than Basque separatists was behind the Madrid train bombs that killed 200 people last week. (Albert Gea/Reuters)

The outcome of Spain’s March 14th elections is the worst news ever since the jihad against civilization began more than a decade ago. More than a tenth of the electorate in a major Western democracy has demonstrated that mass murder pays, and thus invited more of it. America is losing a major ally, and the struggle against Islamist terrorism has suffered a major setback. If Spain is a model, the Europeans are clearly not mature enough to understand, let alone deal with, the global threat posed by the Islamist barbarians, and the gulf in the Atlantic is wider than ever....

The headlines on Monday’s front page told the story: "Spanish voters oust ruling party, cite war," "6 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq over weekend," "Two suicide bombings kill 11, hurt 18 Israelis"… . Around the world, terrorists of whatever stripe had reason to celebrate. The headline on Page 1 of the New York Times proclaimed: "Blow to Bush: Ally Rejected/Voters Clearly Reiterate Opposition to Iraq War." The story underneath concluded: "The Bush administration must now fight the perception, accurate or not, that acts of terror against America’s allies can sway nations into rethinking the wisdom of standing too closely with...

I have long maintained that the struggle against the global jihad is a struggle for human rights, and should be beyond partisan considerations. Right and Left both have ample reasons to support it. But with CNN only now dimly realizing that there is an ideological component to the conflict, and Spain caving in to jihadist bullying, it seems that most people are still largely ignorant of what kind of war we're in. That's why it's all the more significant that Spain's new Prime Appeaser-elect has endorsed one of the candidates in America's election. From NewsMax: Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriquez...

Terrorism has won a mighty victory in Spain. The culprits who detonated those bombs of murder on 3/11 intended to use murder to alter the course of Spanish democracy – and they have succeeded. In the months since the attacks on the World Trade Center, we have all heard – and ourselves often repeated – much brave talk about how terror cannot prevail, how justice must inevitably win through, etc. etc. etc. The news from Spain suggests how very wrong those hopes were. People are not always strong. Sometimes they indulge false hopes that by lying low, truckling, appeasing, they...

The Spanish dishonoured their dead By Mark Steyn (Filed: 16/03/2004) "When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, naturally they will like the strong horse." So said Osama bin Laden in his final video appearance two-and-a-half years ago. But even the late Osama might have been surprised to see the Spanish people, invited to choose between a strong horse and a weak horse, opt to make their general election an exercise in mass self-gelding. To be sure, there are all kinds of John Kerry-esque footnoted nuances to Sunday's stark numbers. One sympathises with those electors reported to be...

When France and Germany balked at supporting the war on Iraq, the Spanish prime minister, José María Aznar, stood publicly by Mr. Bush at a summit meeting in the Azores a year ago this week, and just days before the war began. Now voters have elected the opposition Socialists, although the center right was leading in the polls until the terrorist attack.

The results of Sunday's election in Spain, in which the pro-American Popular party was voted out of office in an upset by a Socialist party profoundly at odds with American policy in Iraq and elsewhere, doesn't leave much room for interpretation. Economics wasn't the issue. Job creation and education weren't topics of widespread debate. The war in Iraq, which the conservative Aznar government strongly supported, despite the overwhelming opposition of most Spaniards, had largely evaporated as a factor in the polls before the voting. Not even the horrible terror attacks of Thursday did much to change voters' minds. The thing...

Last Thursday's deadly terrorist attacks in Madrid thrust Spain's elections into the world spotlight. The surprise results from Sunday's elections now grab headlines around the world as the press takes a look at what it all means. The leader of Spain's victorious Socialists, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, said Monday he would likely withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops from Iraq in June. "The war has been a disaster, the occupation continues to be a disaster. It has only caused violence," Mr. Zapatero said. "There must be consequences. There has been one already – the election result. The second will be that the...

Exactly one year ago - March 15th 2003 - The Spectator did a special future-of-the-world issue. My editors kept reminding me that week, "Now remember, Mark, it's not about Bush and Rumsfeld - you're supposed to look 30-40 years ahead." Well, I did as I was told, though I was a little disappointed when the magazine hit the newsstands hardly anybody else had. But I think it's worth dusting off in the light of the Spanish general election. There are big changes underfoot in Europe. No-one knows how they'll resolve themselves, but we do know the likely options - and...

It's now official. Spain has elected its Socialist party to power, throwing out the ruling center-right Popular Party (PP), which had stood beside the U.S. in the war in Iraq. So, what happened? The PP was leading in the polls and widely expected to win Sunday's general election. But then a series of explosions shook Madrid's commuter trains, killing hundreds, and al-Qaeda emerged as the leading suspect. It looked as though they had arranged the attack to seek vengeance for Spain's support of the Iraq war. Next thing you know, the Spaniards had headed to the ballot box and vaulted...

Secretary of State Colin Powell says he does not think the defeat of Spain's pro-U.S. Popular Party in Sunday's elections will mean any lessening of that country's commitment to fight terrorism. The winning Socialists had made Spain's contribution of 1,300 troops to Iraq an election issue. Mr. Powell says he has not been able to fully analyze the Spanish election results and whether last Thursday's devastating terrorist attacks in the Madrid area had anything to do with the outcome. But in a talk with reporters enroute to New Delhi, the Secretary said he did not believe the outcome would undercut...