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| Europe | |||
| Alarm in Spain over al-Qaeda call for its "reconquest" | |||
| 2007-04-12 | |||
| Madrid (dpa) - The emergence of a new al-Qaeda-linked organization in Northern Africa is alarming Spain, which is concerned about Islamists' calls for the reconquest of the country they regard as a lost part of the Muslim world. "We will not be in peace until we set our foot again in our beloved al-Andalus," al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said on claiming responsibility for an attack which killed at least 24 people in Algiers on Wednesday. Al-Andalus is the Moorish name for Spain, parts of which were ruled by Muslims for about eight centuries until the last Moorish bastion, Granada, succumbed to the Christian Reconquest in 1492. The terrorists will undoubtedly attempt to extend their offensive from Northern Africa to European soil, anti-terrorism judge Baltasar Garzon warned, cautioning that Spain was at a "very high risk" of suffering an Islamist attack. The reference to al-Andalus was not the first by al-Qaeda, which has also vowed to put an end to the Spanish "occupation" of the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the Moroccan coast. Such announcements worry the security services in Spain, where 29 mainly Moroccan suspects are on trial for the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 and injured about 1,800 people. The bombings were mainly a reaction to the war alliance of Spain's former conservative government with the United States in Iraq, but some of the terrorists are also known to have dreamed of reconquering al-Andalus.
Al-Qaeda is extending its activities in Northern Africa, where the Algiers bombings were preceded by the suicides of three Moroccan Islamists who blew themselves up to avoid being captured by police on Tuesday. The Algerian-based al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), intends to federate North African Islamist cells under a common umbrella.
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| Posted by:Steve |
| #32 ". . . they are here to destroy Western democracy and liberty." An agenda they have made known, talked about, written about, blown things, people, and themselves up in order to realize, and too many in the West are looking the other way. But don't we, as a culture, have a line not to be crossed. People will go about their business until . . . . then they have no patience. Or does everyone think there has been too much deterioration and misinformation for that to be the case now? |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2007-04-12 22:11 |
| #31 AintThatTheShitz.com |
| Posted by: Captain America 2007-04-12 21:50 |
| #30 And use it again, a2u. Spot on! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-12 21:05 |
| #29 I've used it before. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2007-04-12 20:43 |
| #28 Any Ewwwipean who calls for Israel to give back the land should have it pointed outthat maybe they would settle down some if we gave them al-Andalus back. If they're originally from Spain, so much the better. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2007-04-12 20:43 |
| #27 But But But But Bbbbutttt I thought that if Spain stopped "attacking" the muslim radicals and dropped out of the evil US WOT no more Iraq no more Afghanistan no more war,,,, I thought that would mean the attacks would stop and "we would all just get along" commbya cooombyaaa. Why do they still want to kill us??? If I was Bush I would be bringing this up at the next speaking event how great pulling out of Iraq and even the WOT all together has done Spain. How now they are going to get to fight on thier own streets at thier own home aka Andulla land. |
| Posted by: C-Low 2007-04-12 19:43 |
| #26 Spain already accepted Islamic rule by electing Zapatero; the rest is just a formality. The Islamic Republic of France surrendered preemptively to its Moorish invaders, so the Islamo-radicals are still on a historic roll. And on the heels of their public humiliation at the hands of Tehran, even Jolly Olde England looks like another plum ripe for the picking. As the Western world lays dreaming the assassin in the night is bringing his blade to our collective throat. Will our civilizations awaken in time? |
| Posted by: Grumenk Philalzabod0723 2007-04-12 19:19 |
| #25 I'm sure Al Qaeda is only talking about a "symbolic" return to al-Andalus... |
| Posted by: danking_70 2007-04-12 15:42 |
| #24 Exactly. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2007-04-12 15:25 |
| #23 In a similar fashion, technological advances like indoor plumbing, sterile medical treatment, central heating and large-scale agriculture have all gone a long way towards thwarting the less pleasant aspects of evolution and its handmaiden, natural selection. Democrats and Muslims alike stand as living proof of how successfully modern civilization has managed to curb the ravages of natural selection. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-12 15:23 |
| #22 "How is it that modern man is capable of ignoring genetically encoded behavior like this?" My formulation is simple: there is an optimum level of civilization. To the extent a society falls short of that optimum, life tends to be solitary, nasty, brutish and short. Exceed the optimum level, as Western civilization generally has done, and life becomes soft, comfy and plump-- a state which lasts only until the next time the less civilized get rambunctious, whereupon life once more becomes solitary, nasty, brutish and short. That's my theory, anyway... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2007-04-12 15:04 |
| #21 Sorry, I didn't see the sneer quotes around "Justice". Carry on. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-12 14:57 |
| #20 I did say Justice, Zenster. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-04-12 14:47 |
| #19 Actually, if Israel sorted out the Palestinians for once and all, it would remove a central lever for Muslim refusal to address progress in almost all other areas. The Palestinians are so blindingly stupid that they will never realize their role as Middle Eastern whipping boy. Israel needs to scatter them to the four winds, be it in a forced evacuation or as ashes, I could not care less. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-12 14:45 |
| #18 That wouldn't be happening if Justice weren't denied to the Palestinians. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-04-12 14:34 |
| #17 Basically, he's the sterotypical political liberal sucker who believes in offers of hudna (truce) and appeasement. Roll over on your back and your enemies will crowd around to kick you in the belly. Cave men understood this simple equation. How is it that modern man is capable of ignoring genetically encoded behavior like this? Paging El Cid to the white courtesy phone ... |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-12 14:33 |
| #16 And some of us are here to destroy Islam. The rest search wildly for relevance. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-04-12 12:59 |
| #15 Surprise? When did Muslims in general NOT favor a reconquista? Euro-Muslim travel agencies NEVER refer to Spain, because they are expected to use the term "Andalusia." The Quran dictates total conquest, thus the status of lands nominally taken from the Ummah is clearly a target. When common sense rules, Westerners will treat the Muslim pollutant exactly as they would treat a vermin infestation of their own homes. Muslims have NO intention whatsoever of integrating into our system; they are here to destroy Western democracy and liberty. |
| Posted by: Sneaze 2007-04-12 12:20 |
| #14 Or Nancy Pelosi. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2007-04-12 10:40 |
| #13 Sounds like you don't really need AQ for the decline of Western Civilization. All you need are more politicians like Zapetero. |
| Posted by: treo 2007-04-12 10:19 |
| #12 You are wrong doc. Zapatero ancitates New Sapin speaking Arabic... and favours it. Procopious writes: So what you're pointing out GS, is that the PM is a classical socialist internationalist and not a Spaniard? Nope, Zapatero is nuts even by Socialist criterias. In most picture of him I have seen he looks completely allucinated, like if he were heavily on drugs. And now, people I think all of this is smoke and mirrors. The trial is casting ever larger suspicions on the guiltiness of the accused. Let's remind thaqt it was theior arrest in the "Day of reflexion" (a day where politicians are not allowed to speak in media) who toppled the elections. And the elements who allowed those arrests appear to have been planted. BTW, Garzon has been a high ranking memeber of Socialist Party and is under disciplinary action for arbitrary arrest of explosives experts who contradicted governemnt's version. |
| Posted by: JFM 2007-04-12 10:02 |
| #11 Zapatero envisioned a "New Spain." What he didn't anticipate was the his Espana Nuevo would be speaking Arabic. |
| Posted by: doc 2007-04-12 09:43 |
| #10 Why is there alarm? They have been surrendering and giving into the Islamists for years. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-04-12 09:24 |
| #9 Basically, he's the sterotypical political liberal sucker who believes in offers of hudna (truce) and appeasement. There are plenty of examples in history and in congress right now. I invite you to make your own conclusions. |
| Posted by: Glolet Sinatra7878 2007-04-12 09:24 |
| #8 So what you're pointing out GS, is that the PM is a classical socialist internationalist and not a Spaniard? Or just a Spanish version of a Democrat with power? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-04-12 09:20 |
| #7 Since his dramatic election, Zapatero has sought to establish his vision of a “New Spain” on the Iberian peninsula. He has reversed many of the policies of his predecessor, some in just five short months after election, most notably his decision to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq. He has designed and implemented a radically different foreign policy, favoring the bastions of Old Europe, France and Germany, over the United States. He recently approved arms sales to the authoritarian regime of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, despite opposition from the Popular Party and numerous nations around the world. These diplomatic changes were followed by a true revolution in domestic policies. Zapatero has introduced broad social and cultural reforms, including a bill that legalizes gay marriage and adoption of children, which passed the Congress of Deputies in June 2005. He has proposed a new “fast-track divorce” system which slashes the time it takes to complete the legal process from two years to just ten days. He has also reduced funding and support for the Catholic Church. And, he has recently opened the door for thousands of illegal immigrants in Spain, granting amnesty to an estimated 800,000 illicit migrants. |
| Posted by: Glolet Sinatra7878 2007-04-12 09:15 |
| #6 They surrendered in Iraq, leaving behinds millions to suffer and their "allies" to twist in the wind. They thought it would buy them "peace", a word which actually means "submission". They will be hit and hit hard and then they can count on their French and German "friends" for all the help they deserve. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-04-12 09:00 |
| #5 This is another reminder, not to give in to these lying terrorist with their temporary gifts of peace. |
| Posted by: Glolet Sinatra7878 2007-04-12 08:59 |
| #4 They didn't think it applied to them. |
| Posted by: Fred 2007-04-12 08:52 |
| #3 yawn. old news. What part of Establishing-a-World-wide-Caliphate didn't they understand the first dozen times? |
| Posted by: Captain Lewis 2007-04-12 08:29 |
| #2 Electing a Vichy government didn't help that much, did it? |
| Posted by: Jackal 2007-04-12 08:29 |
| #1 When the last muslim king of Granada turned back, with tears in his eyes, as he fled from Queen Isabella's army, his mother, Aisha reproached him. "Do not weep like a woman for what you would not fight like a man" Get over it. |
| Posted by: John Frum 2007-04-12 08:28 |