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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (34208)	3/13/2004 9:37:11 AM
From: redfish	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 793731

The basque do not speak arabic. Therefore to believe they are behind the bombing, one would have to assume that they are trying to "frame" Al Qaeda by planting tapes in arabic and a cellphone programmed in arabic in the van connected to the attack, and in the backpack that did not blow up, and use detonators that ETA has not used before, and use an explosive ETA hasn't used in 10 years. If we get silly enough, I guess we could come up with a theory why the ETA would stage an attack that is completely different from all prior ETA attacks, deny being behind the attack, which is also contrary to all prior ETA attacks, and frame an arabic terrorist organization. Very subtle thinking there: "Hey, let's use arabic cellphones in the backpacks so that just in case they don't blow up, everyone will think the arabs did it!" Or we can simply open our eyes to the fact that it is to the benefit of the ruling party if ETA, and not Al Qaeda, is blamed for the attack. "Spain told envoys to point finger at ETA - paper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MADRID, March 13 (Reuters) - The Spanish government told its ambassadors to spread the word that armed Basque separatist group ETA was to blame for the Madrid bombings within hours of the attacks, a leading newspaper reported on Saturday. "You should use any opportunity to confirm ETA's responsibility for these brutal attacks, thus helping to dissipate any type of doubt that certain interested parties may want to promote," El Pais quoted Foreign Minister Ana Palacio as writing in a memo. Officials could not be immediately reached for comment on the report in a paper linked to the opposition Socialists. Simultaneous explosions on Thursday morning ripped through commuter trains, killing 199 people and wounding nearly 1,500. Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's government was quick to point to ETA as its prime suspect, but suspicions have also emerged that Muslim militants may have been behind the attack. As well as the huge security implications, pinning down responsibility is crucial to Sunday's general election. If ETA is to blame, that could benefit the ruling party because of its tough stance against the Basque separatists. But if there was al Qaeda or other radical Islamic involvement, it may be viewed as the price of Aznar's support for war in Iraq. El Pais said Palacio's internal memo, sent at around 5:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) on Thursday, quoted earlier statements by Interior Minister Angel Acebes. "The Interior Minister has confirmed ETA's responsibility. This is confirmed by the explosive and style used, as well as other information that has not yet been made public for obvious reasons," the text said, according to the newspaper. Since then, the Spanish government has seemed less certain, affirming ETA remains its main line of investigation but saying it is also pursuing other theories. The discovery of a van with detonators and a tape in Arabic, plus a purported letter claiming responsibility for a group aligned to al Qaeda, have fed suspicions of Arab involvement. ETA denied responsibility late on Friday. El Pais said Foreign Ministry officials would not comment on Palacio's memo or whether modified instructions had been sent out to ambassadors at any point afterwards. The newspaper said "an immediate consequence" of Palacio's memo was a "clash" in the U.N. Security Council between Spain's second most senior diplomat there and the Russian ambassador. "The latter was reluctant to approve a resolution about the attack in Madrid which condemned ETA, arguing nothing like that had ever been done before, because it is normally impossible to show responsibility for a terrorist act the same day it has been committed," it said. The U.N. Security Council voted, however, 15-0 to accept the word of the Spanish government and condemn ETA on Thursday despite hesitations from Russia, Germany and others." alertnet.org Investigators found a sports bag at the scene of some of the explosions which contained an unexploded bomb and a mobile phone that was to be used to detonate it. The phone was configured in Arabic, an official, Cinco Dias, said. Documents reviewed in Norway show that islamists sought to change Spanish public opinion in connection with the election in a couple of days. The incumbent conservatives have taken the strongest line against the Basque separatists and so noises about how the Basque separatist ETA is responsible -- for the next two days -- will favor their election prospects. News it was the militant islamists will have an uncertain effect in the election. phxnews.com Rucksack bombs used in deadly Madrid train bombings were set off by mobile phone and contained copper detonators, which are not generally used by armed Basque separatist group ETA, a radio station has reported. reuters.co.uk It also emerged yesterday that investigators have discounted preliminary forensic information which linked Thursday's bombs to a commercial plastic explosive material called Titadine, which was stolen by Eta in France last year. Instead, the bombs are thought to have been made with plastic explosive made in Spain and available internationally on the black market. While several of the bombs that went off are thought to have been timed, one was discovered yesterday in a bag along with a mobile telephone which investigators hope might provide vital clues. Eta had not used this type of explosive for some time but Spanish investigators believe the group could have turned to a new source of supply after explosives it had stolen from France had been recovered by French and Spanish police. news.ft.com