QuoteAbsolutely awful. I've been in that station more than I've been in Heuston, and have friends living just around the corner. Sick, cowardly scum whoever did this. RIP
My sympathy to all in the disgusting, cowardly attack on the Madrid train system this morning. Latest reports are that 173 are dead and many more seriously injured. May they Rest In Peace.
Absolutely awful. I've been in that station more than I've been in Heuston, and have friends living just around the corner. Sick, cowardly scum whoever did this. RIP
Agreed. Scum.Originally posted by Éanna
Absolutely awful. I've been in that station more than I've been in Heuston, and have friends living just around the corner. Sick, cowardly scum whoever did this. RIP
Friend of mine was in the station last night and decided to go home rather than clubbing and an early train home.
Batasuana (sp?) are claiming it was Arabs and not ETA.
Oh no not them again
Batasuna, yeah they are. To be honest it wouldn't surprise me if they were right, for a number of reasons.Originally posted by SÓC
Batasuana (sp?) are claiming it was Arabs and not ETA.
1. Spain is the only EU country apart from Britain that stood with Bush in his plans for world domination.
2. ETA normally give a warning before their bombs in order to maximise effect and minimise casualties.
3. ETA have tended to attack what they term political or military targets (i.e. police, army and government/ anti-independence politicians) rather than civilian targets. And when they have attacked civilian targets it has been tourist centres such as airports, in order to cause economic damage by scaring tourists away.
4. Batasuna were very quick to issue the denial, and while ETA never claims responsibility, they don't usually deny it either.
wouldnt rule out eta just yet.if you remember back to xmas eve
two eta members were arrested trying to place a bomb on a train bound from sans sebastian to madrid.
the police searched the train on route and found another 50 lb bomb on board.the police reckon they foiled a serious incident at the time.
when arrested the two eta members told authorities of other bombs planted for explosion.
r. i. p. the victims
No, I definitely wouldn't rule them out, I'm just saying that the points I made above conflict with ETA's normal way of doing things. Also, this is likely to strengthen the PP conservative government which is the last thing ETA will want- they'd have a much better chance of reaching some kind of deal with the socialists.
Other thing that has been raised is the possibility that we're seeing a split within ETA, kind of like when the "Real IRA" set up out of the PIRA. There are certainly elemnts within ETA who think they haven't been active enough, and Batasuna has been working very hard to keep them under some kind of control, and maybe they've decided to break with mainstream ETA and do their own murderous thing.
Very hard to say at this stage. Spnaish govt has organised a mass protest for 7 P.M. tomorrow in Madrid against terrorism, which is IMO only going to succeed in winding the people who did this up even more.
Just discussing that in a politics tutorial yesterday, and there were a few americans in the class, saying how it was a fight to protect the liberal democracy. I asked them if they thought fundamentalism was a bad thing. they said yes. So I suggested that this war on terror is not a clash of civilisations or any such thing, but liberal fundamentalists fighting Islamic fundamentalists. i think they're still scratching their heads .Originally posted by Conor74
One thing the appalling attacks in Turkey and now Spain show that perhaps Bush's 'War on Terrorism' has failed, not just because Bin Laden and the infamous WMD's have never been found, but it seems that remarkably international terrorism is worse than at any time before, including the 70s.
Was in Atocha this day last year and still thanking my lucky stars that my trip wasnt 1 year later/ the bomb 1 year earlier. You really have to wonder about the people who carry out something like this & what goes through their minds.
As I say, we're just young & a bit nieve.
Yeah, just struck me awhile ago that the other 2 stations are on the commuter line to Alcala de Henares, where I was living when I was in Spain- I used that exact line nearly every time I went into Madrid.
Whoever did this are cowardly scum. They will never acheive any ends by murdering innocent people including children and brave emergancy services.
RIP the victims,
God Bless them all.
Bring the scum to justice and show them that they'll never win!
Cowardly terrorist murdering scum.
Just watching Sky News there and they're reporting that a "suspect van has been found on the outskirts of Madrid containing explosive detonators and Arab tape recordings". ETA are also denying that they had any involvement at the moment. If they were responsible surely they'd want people knowing so as to get their "message" across? Looks like it's pointing towards Arab terrorists at the moment.
Regardless of who's responsible it's a disgraceful and quite scary turn of events.
Champions!
On a day like today that's harsh on the Spanish government. I find their attempts to blame the Basques sickening.Originally posted by Colm
Cowardly terrorist murdering scum.
EL grounds are like good episodes of The Simpsons, no matter how many times you see them they're still funny
If this attack is from an Islamic group, then isn't it just further proof that you can't fight a war against terrorists? Name a country that has managed to defeat a well organised, committed guerrilla army and I’ll name 10 that failed. Best case scenario, years of svage attacks followed by a negotiated truce. Further US military action will only increase Arab public anger, leading to further reprisals against US sites and those of it’s allies.
If the USA wants peace, then the only option is to sit down with the leaders of the Arab world and listen to their concerns. Primarily, this will involve a major re-think on the US support for Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. If the US dropped it’s support for such actions tomorrow then a lot of the anger exhibited towards Americans by Islamic groups would dissipate. It would take time, but I think it’s possible.
Perhaps a new head of state in Washington could initiate such a programme and lead the way forward?
Very well said. The signs all point to the so-called "Al-Qaeda" network now, and the EU and the US have to have a very serious think about foreign policy before this becomes a regular occurrence.Originally posted by liamon
If this attack is from an Islamic group, then isn't it just further proof that you can't fight a war against terrorists? Name a country that has managed to defeat a well organised, committed guerrilla army and I’ll name 10 that failed. Best case scenario, years of svage attacks followed by a negotiated truce. Further US military action will only increase Arab public anger, leading to further reprisals against US sites and those of it’s allies.
If the USA wants peace, then the only option is to sit down with the leaders of the Arab world and listen to their concerns. Primarily, this will involve a major re-think on the US support for Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. If the US dropped it’s support for such actions tomorrow then a lot of the anger exhibited towards Americans by Islamic groups would dissipate. It would take time, but I think it’s possible.
Perhaps a new head of state in Washington could initiate such a programme and lead the way forward?
apparently the attacks yesterday were exactly 911 days after the Sept 11th attacks in the US.
the supposed claim of responsibility by the group linked to Al-Qaeda said that an attack on America was 90% ready
From CNN.com: "we will alert all Muslims around the world that an attack from the Wind of Black Death is imminent. It is currently in the final stages, 90 percent complete, God willing soon."
the CNN story
scary stuff.
oh and the Spanish police found and defused a 14th bomb.
10 detonated, 4 defused.
i'll post a link when i find it again.
Last edited by Ref; 12/03/2004 at 1:16 PM.
Don't too much of it. I think most Islamic extremists are above that type of thing.Originally posted by Ref
apparently the attacks yesterday were exactly 911 days after the Sept 11th attacks in the US.
IMO, Spain is reaping what it has sown. They have paid the price (or at least part of it) for their support of the US over Iraq. The Spanish had to coming to them. Very unfair however to target civilians. Spanish public opinon was anti-war overall. If people have a problem with Spain invading Iraq it should have, if attacks were to be used at all, taken up with the Spanish government. While I have the upmost sympathy for the people involved, I have none whatsoever for Aznar's government, and hope they get hammered in the coming elections.
To quote Lisa Simpson:
"You can't create a monster, then whine when it stomps on a few buildings."
Have you ever won the treble?
very interesting article here
basically it's who could have done it, ETA or Al Qaeda.
Hmmm, that's one of the most sympathetic posts I've ever seen on here.Originally posted by brendy_éire
IMO, Spain is reaping what it has sown. .... The Spanish had to coming to them.
If you had said the Spanish people are reaping what their government has sown, I'd agree with you.Originally posted by brendy_éire
IMO, Spain is reaping what it has sown.
Yes, that is what I meant. Althought most of the Spanish public was anti-war, when a government invades another country it claims to do so with a mandate from the electorate. Ye can under why many Iraqis may blame the Spanish people for invading their country. After all, the Spanish electorate chose a right-wing government.Originally posted by Éanna
If you had said the Spanish people are reaping what their government has sown, I'd agree with you.
Last edited by brendy_éire; 13/03/2004 at 2:58 PM.
Have you ever won the treble?
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