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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (39403)	3/13/2004 8:36:26 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 89467

I thought your IQ was at least above 50. Dang! I was so wrong! You have your own thread so why are you here.......bored?

To: jlallen who wrote (39403)	3/14/2004 6:12:00 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 89467

Furious protesters chant: ‘Our dead, your war’ By Neil Mackay, Marion McKeone in Washington and James Cusick in Madrid THREE Moroccans and two Indians have been arrested in Spain for the Madrid train bombings on Thursday. All five are thought to be linked to two militant Islamic groups which were named as the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group and Salafia Jihadi. The arrests came as 5000 angry demonstrators picketed the offices of the ruling Popular Party shouting “lies” and other slogans claiming that Prime Minister José María Aznar had covered up the truth about the atrocity by blaming the Basque separatist group ETA ahead of today’s general election. The arrests were confirmed by the interior minister, Angel Acebes, who said the five were arrested in connection with pay-as-you-go mobile phone cards found in a “backpack bomb” that the police recovered from one of the bombed trains. Acebes, who had blamed ETA within hours of the atrocity, said last night: “Sixty hours after the brutal attack, we now have five detentions.” American intelligence agencies believed all along that al-Qaeda was behind the Madrid bombings but deferred to the Spanish government’s claims that ETA was responsible, pending the general election. Both FBI and CIA agents are in Madrid assisting the authorities. Spain’s National Intelligence Centre (CNI) is also said to be “99% certain” that Muslim extremists and not ETA were responsible for the attacks, according to a left-wing Spanish radio station. Aznar’s party faces an angry backlash today with many voters now convinced he lied about al-Qaeda’s involvement fearing that the Spanish public would blame him for the loss of life. Nearly 90% of all Spaniards had been against Aznar supporting the war in Iraq and many now see the Madrid bombings as pay-back. Aznar is seen in the Arab world as the third most significant player in the so-called “coalition of the willing”. Spain has sent 1300 troops to Iraq. If ETA had been responsible for the attacks, many voters would have flocked to the Popular Party because of Aznar’s eight-year security crackdown on the Basque terror group. ETA has denied any involvement in the attacks, and an Islamic extremist organisation earlier claimed the atrocity in the name of al-Qaeda. A van linked to the attacks was found to contain Koranic verses and detonators. Last night some 3000 people staged a spontaneous demonstration outside the Popular Party’s offices in Madrid chanting “We want the truth before voting”, “Who did it?”, “Our dead, your war” “No more cover-ups” and “Aznar, because of you, we all pay”. Some demonstrators were beaten by police in riot gear. sundayherald.com

To: jlallen who wrote (39403)	3/14/2004 6:15:37 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Let this be just the beginning of the end................ ******************************************************** Opposition Socialists win Spanish election 15.03.2004 11.19am MADRID - Opposition Socialists won Spain's general election on Sunday when voters swept the government from power, blaming its Iraq policy for last week's suspected al Qaeda attack in Madrid. The ruling Popular Party (PP) conceded defeat to Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who will take over from outgoing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, a staunch supporter of the US-led war in Iraq that most Spaniards opposed. "It's a victory. The Spanish Socialist Working Party is ready to take charge of government in Spain," a senior Socialist official Jose Blanco told cheering supporters. Voters, many wearing the black ribbon symbols of national grief since Thursday's attack that killed 200 people, turned out in large numbers amid an angry debate over who was behind the train bombings -- al Qaeda or Basque separatists. Analysts had warned the PP could be hit if voters believed a purported fresh al Qaeda claim that the group had mounted its first attack in Europe and in reprisal for Spain's support for the Iraq war. "If the al Qaeda network is behind these attacks, then you can certainly say that al Qaeda is responsible for removing Aznar and the PP (Popular Party) from government, said Charles Powell, assistant professor at San Pablo-Ceu University. Official results showed the Socialists leading the ruling centre-right Popular Party by 42.7 per cent to 37.7 per cent with 96 per cent of votes counted. This would give the Socialists 164 seats in parliament compared with the PP's 148, but short of an absolute majority of 176. Some Spaniards were vitriolic in accusing Aznar of "manipulating" public opinion by spending three days blaming the bombings of four packed commuter trains on the Basque separatist group ETA, despite its denials. Aznar, retiring as prime minister and hailing a solid economy and greater clout for a country restored to the international mainstream three decades after Franco's dictatorship ended, had taken a tough line against ETA. Protesters shouted "Liar" and "Get our troops out of Iraq" at the PP's leading candidate Mariano Rajoy when he voted. The Socialists have pledged to withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops from Iraq if the UN does not take control by June 30 when Washington plans to hand power back to Iraqis. Opinion polls showed as many as 90 per cent of Spaniards opposed the Iraq war. In a high turnout, voters said they wanted to display unity for democracy after the worst guerilla attack in Europe since the 1988 Lockerbie bombing of a US airliner killed 270 people. Just hours before polling began, officials said a purported al Qaeda video had been found in a waste bin on the outskirts of Madrid and that three Moroccans and two Indians had been arrested in connection with the attack. nzherald.co.nz