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

To: LindyBill who wrote (54552)	7/16/2004 7:21:48 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793913

Morocco is Europe's biggest terrorist threat, Spain's judge Garzon says By Daniel Woolls ASSOCIATED PRESS 7:07 a.m. July 15, 2004 MADRID, Spain – Morocco – home to most of the suspects in the Madrid train bombing – is teeming with some 100 al-Qaeda-linked cells that are capable of suicide attacks and pose Europe's biggest terrorist threat, Spain's leading anti-terrorism judge testified Thursday. Each cell has five to 10 members, "so we are talking about 900 to 1,000 people who could be sought by police now in Morocco," Judge Baltasar Garzon told lawmakers investigating the March 11 attacks, which killed 190 people. Garzon cited police and intelligence data. "In my opinion it is the gravest problem Europe faces today with this kind of terrorism," Garzon said, noting that many of those groups are in northern Morocco, with members who speak perfect Spanish and are able to slip easily in and out of Spain. The two countries are just a short ferry ride away from each other across the Strait of Gibraltar. Most of the 17 people jailed in Spain on preliminary charges stemming from the Madrid bombing attack are Moroccan, including Jamal Zougam, suspected of physically placing the bombs on the crowded morning commuter trains. Garzon said his initial reaction to the attack was that al-Qaeda – not Basque separatists, as asserted by the government – were responsible, because of the scale of the carnage and its stunning coordination, 10 virtually simultaneous blasts. Garzon said he had second thoughts when police told him – in error – the explosives used were a brand favored by Basque separatists, but then became convinced the massacre was linked to Islamic extremists hours later after learning of a van containing detonators, explosives and a tape with Quranic verses near the rail station from which the bombed trains departed. "It was like a light bulb going on," Garzon said, referring specifically to the tape. "I had no doubt whatsoever." At that point the government had already blamed the Basque separatist group ETA, and even after disclosing the existence of the tape it continued to insist ETA was the prime suspect. Garzon testified before the 16-member commission in his capacity as an expert on Islamic terrorism after investigating Muslim extremist groups in Spain since 1989. Garzon is not leading the March 11 inquiry into whether Spanish officials could have averted the attacks; a colleague of his at the National Court, Juan del Olmo, is doing it. But Garzon last month completed an eight-year investigation that has culminated in indictments against 41 al-Qaeda suspects, including its leader Osama bin Laden, accusing him and a dozen others of preparing the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. Find this article at: signonsandiego.com

To: LindyBill who wrote (54552)	7/16/2004 7:50:56 AM
From: Lane3	Respond to of 793913

As Hennessey just posted, it makes more sense to carry concealed. I agree. An exposed gun on your hip is just too "in your face." Not to say that it necessarily ought to be illegal. But, having thought about this over the last day, I think I'd put it at least in the "shirts and shoes required" category of restaurant etiquette.