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| Europe |
| The Moslem Terror Web in Spain |
| 2004-07-27 |
| From The New Yorker, an article by Lawrence Wright. .... The Al Qaeda cell in Spain is old and well established. Mohamed Atta, the commander of the September 11th attacks, came to Spain twice in 2001. The second time was in July, for a meeting in the coastal resort of Salou, which appears to have been arranged as a final go-ahead for the attacks. After September 11th, Spanish police estimated that there were three hundred Islamic radicals in the country who might be affiliated with Al Qaeda. Even before then, members of the Spanish cell had been monitored by police agencies, as is evident from the abundant use of wiretaps and surveillance information in indictments that were issued in November, 2001, when eleven suspects were charged with being Al Qaeda members—the first of several terrorist roundups. And yet, according to Spanish police officials, at the time of the Madrid attacks there was not a single Arabic-speaking intelligence agent in the country. Al Qaeda was simply not seen as a threat to Spain. "We never believed we were a real target," a senior police official said. "That's the reality." .... Gustavo de Aristegui is one of the leaders of the Popular Party in Spain's Basque country. For years, he represented Donostio-San Sebastiän, the region's capital, in the Spanish congress. A lawyer and former diplomat, Aristegui has been preoccupied for many years with the rise of Islamic terror. His father was Spain's Ambassador to Lebanon and was killed in Beirut in 1989, when Syrian forces shelled his diplomatic residence. "Al Qaeda has four different networks," Aristegui told me in Madrid, the day after the Socialists took power. "First, there is the original network, the one that committed 9/11, which uses its own resources and people it has recruited and trained. Then, there is the ad-hoc terrorist network, consisting of franchise organizations that Al Qaeda created -- often to replace ones that weren't bloody enough -- in countries such as the Philippines, Jordan, and Algeria." The third network, Aristegui said, is more subtle, "a strategic union of like-minded companies." Since February, 1998, when Osama bin Laden announced the creation of the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Crusaders and Jews -- an umbrella organization for Islamist groups from Morocco to China -- Al Qaeda has expanded its dominion by making alliances and offering funds. "Hamas is in, or almost in," Aristegui said. "Bin Laden is trying to tempt Hezbollah to join, but they are Shia, and many Sunnis are opposed to them." Finally, there is the fourth network—"imitators, emulators," who are ideologically aligned with Al Qaeda but are less tied to it financially. "These are the ones who committed Madrid," Aristegui said. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #21 Shipman Jew haters exist but I'm not one of them Robert do you really think he will do it??? |
| Posted by: Antiwar 2004-07-27 11:10:40 AM |
| #20 The reason I said it is because Hitler wanted more living space for Germans and Sharon wants more living space for Israelis (you know the settlements) |
| Posted by: Antiwar 2004-07-27 10:19:34 AM |
| #19 Lebensraum? sounds zionist |
| Posted by: Antiwar 2004-07-27 9:25:40 AM |
| #18 Antiwar...how did you get to be so stupid? It's always a let down to see your troll droppings in here. Get a brain. |
| Posted by: B 2004-07-27 4:06:40 PM |
| #17 Type stress analysis reveals another impostor. |
| Posted by: Col Flagg 2004-07-27 2:24:11 PM |
| #16 Antisemite-- Just when I thought you couldn't get any stupider, you do. When are you returning your house to the aborigines from whom you stole the land, Antisemite? And what does your "comment" have to do with the animals who are attacking Spain? |
| Posted by: BMN 2004-07-27 12:48:23 PM |
| #15 Just what the doctor ordered, another troll inspired 30+ comment thread (sorry for aping ya, Frank G...). |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-07-27 12:31:50 PM |
| #14 Lebensraum? sounds zionist Antiwar? Sounds stupid. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-07-27 11:30:13 AM |
| #13 [Off-topic or abusive comments deleted] |
| Posted by: Antiwar TROLL 2004-07-27 11:10:40 AM |
| #12 Odd... wasn't there a protest this week because Sharon wants to dismantle the settlements? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-07-27 10:52:02 AM |
| #11 We rarely castigate anyone in this day and age for the old crime of being 2 STD away to the left of the the "so called normal range of iq". So don't fret. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-07-27 10:35:48 AM |
| #10 Now, now. That's not the real reason, but we won't tell. Rantburgers have seen Jew haters before. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-07-27 10:33:48 AM |
| #9 [Off-topic or abusive comments deleted] |
| Posted by: Antiwar TROLL 2004-07-27 10:19:34 AM |
| #8 LOL! I think I hear a foo-troll. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-07-27 9:59:54 AM |
| #7 And... they're off!!! |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-07-27 9:46:00 AM |
| #6 Lebensraum? sounds zionist And so, the fascist twit moves beyond parody. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-07-27 9:38:07 AM |
| #5 Zionist?!?! Try some history, you twit. |
| Posted by: Spot 2004-07-27 9:37:27 AM |
| #4 Lebensraum is Nazi you idiot. If you haven't noticed and I'm sure you're to stupid to realize the real facists are the Islamists. |
| Posted by: JerseyMike 2004-07-27 9:35:25 AM |
| #3 [Off-topic or abusive comments deleted] |
| Posted by: Antiwar TROLL 2004-07-27 9:25:40 AM |
| #2 Spain is just another part of the Benny 'Lebensraum' Program. Granada is once again to be the palace of a Caliphate. |
| Posted by: Don 2004-07-27 8:41:59 AM |
| #1 It appears that some kind of attack would have happened even if Spain had not joined the Coalition—or if the invasion of Iraq had never occurred. ... Thereby putting to lie the leftists contention that Spanish participation in the war was why they were attacked...they were going to be attacked ANYWAY...why? Because the Islamists WANT Spain...and they aren't appeased. No way, no how. they want it all... |
| Posted by: RMcLeod 2004-07-27 12:22:31 AM |