London and Madrid

Two recent articles on the bombings in London and Madrid have appeared within days of each other. Both are of great interest. First:

Madrid bombings were ‘inspired’ by al-Qaeda

The suspected masterminds of the deadly train bombings in Madrid in 2004 belonged to a local cell “inspired” by al-Qaeda acting to force Spain to withdraw troops from Iraq, according to the judge investigating the attacks, a media report said today. Juan del Olmo, the top judge overseeing the inquiry into Spain’s worst extremist attack, is due to make the announcement this week when he charges at least 30 mainly Moroccan suspects with involvement, centre-left daily El Pais reported.

And secondly, with regard to London:

New claims Iraq war ‘motivated’ London bombings

CALLS for an independent inquiry into the 7 July London attacks were renewed yesterday, amid claims an official report will cite the Iraq war as a motivating factor for the suicide bombers. A “narrative”, being drawn up by a senior civil servant for the Home Office, will detail events leading up to the atrocity, and blame Britain’s foreign policy for radicalising young Muslims, according to a Sunday newspaper. A draft copy of the document – which was called for by Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, when he resisted demands for an outside inquiry – concludes that Iraq was a “contributory factor”, it was reported.

So, according to the reports, the Madrid bombings were commited by Al-Qaeda copycats as were those in London. Perhaps most important is that neither had much of anything to do with their respective country’s involvement in the war in Iraq. While it was a motivating factor, it wasn’t the only one. It’s not very probable that a group of upstanding hard working citizens all of the sudden decided to find out about bomb making and plot terrorist attacks because the UK and Spain aided the US in overthrowing a monster. The London report for example also notes: “Other factors identified as motivating the four men who blew themselves up on Tube trains and a bus included economic deprivation and social exclusion.”

And lastly, as I’ve noted before, the bombings had little to do with Iraq. The history of Islamic terrorism against the West didn’t start in 2003 and these latest articles say the same thing. The fact is that those people who were already in danger of breaking with society, could have become common criminals as many other poor disgruntled immigrants do. Did one war suddenly change them into murderous Islamists? Similar to World War I, the spark that finally set off the war shouldn’t be confused with the real causes.

SIDENOTE: On a related note, recently translated documents from Iraq provide evidence that Saddam was indeed funding more terrorism than just in Palestine. Where and who? Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines.