Monday, March 15, 2004
Al-Qaeda got what it wanted
They managed to topple the Spanish government through a carefully-timed terrorist attack, and now the newly elected Prime Minister plans to pull all 1300 Spanish troops out of Iraq. With that kind of success, I expect that Al-Qaeda will try MORE such shocks to the political system (America has an election in November).
Al-Qaeda has learned that it can pretty much tell whole nations what to do by scaring the hell out of them. That's my BIGGEST concern. The Spanish conservative party DID seem to be playing too much politics with the terrorist attack. They seemed to keep repeating the notion that ETA was responsible (which wasn't inconceivable, given that they had just stopped a vanload of ETA explosives from reaching Madrid back in January) even though it was increasingly clear that Al-Qaeda was the prime suspect.
That was stupid, and Aznar's party paid for it. However, they've now shown Al-Qaeda that they can cause seismic shifts in western countries by well-timed terrorist attacks. Right now, their aim is to pry away America's allies. Remember, though, that Al-Zawahiri spent a lot of time condemning France's ban on veils in schools in his latest taped broadcast. What are the odds that an emboldened Al-Qaeda won't try to bully the French electorate in future?
As a side note, September 11th, where 3000 people were killed, happened BEFORE America invaded either Afghanistan or Iraq. Back then, Israel barely registered on Al-Qaeda's radar screen, as they were more obsessed with American troops in Saudi Arabia (who were there to help keep Saddam Hussein in his cage).
In other words, if you think Al-Qaeda will just restrict themselves to attacking America's allies, you're sadly mistaken. Al-Qaeda has MUCH broader goals. Right now, the low hanging fruit is America's allies. Later, it might be countries that ban veils in schools, or companies that broadcast immoral western television.
They managed to topple the Spanish government through a carefully-timed terrorist attack, and now the newly elected Prime Minister plans to pull all 1300 Spanish troops out of Iraq. With that kind of success, I expect that Al-Qaeda will try MORE such shocks to the political system (America has an election in November).
Al-Qaeda has learned that it can pretty much tell whole nations what to do by scaring the hell out of them. That's my BIGGEST concern. The Spanish conservative party DID seem to be playing too much politics with the terrorist attack. They seemed to keep repeating the notion that ETA was responsible (which wasn't inconceivable, given that they had just stopped a vanload of ETA explosives from reaching Madrid back in January) even though it was increasingly clear that Al-Qaeda was the prime suspect.
That was stupid, and Aznar's party paid for it. However, they've now shown Al-Qaeda that they can cause seismic shifts in western countries by well-timed terrorist attacks. Right now, their aim is to pry away America's allies. Remember, though, that Al-Zawahiri spent a lot of time condemning France's ban on veils in schools in his latest taped broadcast. What are the odds that an emboldened Al-Qaeda won't try to bully the French electorate in future?
As a side note, September 11th, where 3000 people were killed, happened BEFORE America invaded either Afghanistan or Iraq. Back then, Israel barely registered on Al-Qaeda's radar screen, as they were more obsessed with American troops in Saudi Arabia (who were there to help keep Saddam Hussein in his cage).
In other words, if you think Al-Qaeda will just restrict themselves to attacking America's allies, you're sadly mistaken. Al-Qaeda has MUCH broader goals. Right now, the low hanging fruit is America's allies. Later, it might be countries that ban veils in schools, or companies that broadcast immoral western television.
