The Economist.— La farsa espanyola entorn del 11-M
An inquiry into the Madrid bombing dashes peoples hopes.
The Economist, 31/07/2004.
“For the sake of my mental hygiene. I hardly ever read newspapers.” Such was the unilluminating response offered by Eduardo Fungairifio, the chief prosecutor of Spain’s highest court, when asked how much he knew, and when, about the parked van which — as the entire Spanish media reported hours alter the attack-pointed clearly to the Islamist origin of the Madrid bombings of March 11th.
There was more rambling to follow: “Islamic terrorism was never a thing that attracted my personal attention, it always seemed a second-rate sort of terrorism ... Arab names are hard to remember.” The prosecutor’s burbling was fairly typical of the lamentable level of discussion at an inquiry into the March attacks, which killed 191 people.
As everyone accepts, any such probe was bound to be political. That is because three days after the bombing, the centre-right People’s Party was voted out in favour of the Socialists — in part, at least, because of the electorate’s rage at the old government’s failure to recognise the bomb’s islamist rots, and at its hints that separatist Basques were to blame. But given the extreme gravity of the subject matter, some Spaniards hoped that that an official probe might rise above politics and ponder the safety of the nation. They were disappointed.
An obvious question is whether the former prime minister, José Maria Aznar, attempted to manipulate public opinion between the time of the bombs and the election by placing the blame on ETA, the Basque terrorist group. But what the investigation has shown, if it has shown anything at all is the way in which Spain’s security services were wholly unprepared for mega-terror — in part because they were, and are, hopelessly divided by inter-agency rivalry, and by political affiliation. The leadership of all Spain’s security services changed alter the election, and those who were on watch at the time of the Match bombing are now frantically trying to protect Mr Aznar’s reputation.
In one farcical session of the inquiry, Eduardo Blanco, a police chief, was escorted into a hearing by a gaggle of officials from the opposition. As for Jorge Dezcallar, the head of the Centre of National Intelligence at the time, he confessed he had been a “bit out of the game” in the days after the attacks.
Agustin Diaz de Mera, the former director-general of Spanish police, insisted that Mr Aznar had acted with “transparency” throughout — and that there is still a real possibility of a Basque connection. He was not impressed by the fact that a tape with Koranic verses had been found in the van. After all, such a tape “could be found in anyone’s car.”
In the face of such blustering in high places, it came as little surprise to learn recently that it took the police three months to find another car — also containing Koranic tapes, and also apparently used by the bombers — that was parked 20 metres from the first vehicle.
An opinion poll says 64% of Spanish people think their politicians have no interest in what really happened on March 11th. On this matter, the instinct of ordinary Spaniards, who impressed the world with the dignity of their mourning, seems wiser than that of politicians who are supposed to protect them.
The Economist, 31/07/2004.
“For the sake of my mental hygiene. I hardly ever read newspapers.” Such was the unilluminating response offered by Eduardo Fungairifio, the chief prosecutor of Spain’s highest court, when asked how much he knew, and when, about the parked van which — as the entire Spanish media reported hours alter the attack-pointed clearly to the Islamist origin of the Madrid bombings of March 11th.
There was more rambling to follow: “Islamic terrorism was never a thing that attracted my personal attention, it always seemed a second-rate sort of terrorism ... Arab names are hard to remember.” The prosecutor’s burbling was fairly typical of the lamentable level of discussion at an inquiry into the March attacks, which killed 191 people.
As everyone accepts, any such probe was bound to be political. That is because three days after the bombing, the centre-right People’s Party was voted out in favour of the Socialists — in part, at least, because of the electorate’s rage at the old government’s failure to recognise the bomb’s islamist rots, and at its hints that separatist Basques were to blame. But given the extreme gravity of the subject matter, some Spaniards hoped that that an official probe might rise above politics and ponder the safety of the nation. They were disappointed.
An obvious question is whether the former prime minister, José Maria Aznar, attempted to manipulate public opinion between the time of the bombs and the election by placing the blame on ETA, the Basque terrorist group. But what the investigation has shown, if it has shown anything at all is the way in which Spain’s security services were wholly unprepared for mega-terror — in part because they were, and are, hopelessly divided by inter-agency rivalry, and by political affiliation. The leadership of all Spain’s security services changed alter the election, and those who were on watch at the time of the Match bombing are now frantically trying to protect Mr Aznar’s reputation.
In one farcical session of the inquiry, Eduardo Blanco, a police chief, was escorted into a hearing by a gaggle of officials from the opposition. As for Jorge Dezcallar, the head of the Centre of National Intelligence at the time, he confessed he had been a “bit out of the game” in the days after the attacks.
Agustin Diaz de Mera, the former director-general of Spanish police, insisted that Mr Aznar had acted with “transparency” throughout — and that there is still a real possibility of a Basque connection. He was not impressed by the fact that a tape with Koranic verses had been found in the van. After all, such a tape “could be found in anyone’s car.”
In the face of such blustering in high places, it came as little surprise to learn recently that it took the police three months to find another car — also containing Koranic tapes, and also apparently used by the bombers — that was parked 20 metres from the first vehicle.
An opinion poll says 64% of Spanish people think their politicians have no interest in what really happened on March 11th. On this matter, the instinct of ordinary Spaniards, who impressed the world with the dignity of their mourning, seems wiser than that of politicians who are supposed to protect them.
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