Glad to hear it, Tercio. I don't blame the Spanish people--only certain members of their newly elected government.

>>Vae Victis: Misfortune to the defeated. Now I fully understand the meaning of that sentence. Last Thursday I saw 200 of my fellow citizens killed, 1500+ wounded. Then, panick turned Spain upside down in Sunday's election. Today, a quick glance of this web site shows me tons of trash thrown to my country.<< The Andalusian people chose to believe fighting alongside America without Osama Bin Laden's permission is too dangerous. If I were an Andalusian, I'd be more worried about what Osama Bin Laden thinks of your wives and daughters not wearing headscarves in public and less about infidel Americans "dumping tons of trash" on a country that folds when confronted by terrorism, AND BLAMES AMERICA FOR IT. Better hurry with learning how to pray in Arabic 5 times a day too. You never know when Al Qaeda may strike you again. At least you've got a head start on the "blame America for your problems" part. >>Well, my Spanish fellows have panicked and chosen wrong, we all will pay for that for sure. But believe it or not, defeated and humilliated, Spain is still an ally in the war of terror, and it'll be.<< Spain? Don't you mean al-Andalous?

Tercio - I'm not sure exactly what you meant when you say "tons of trash thrown to your country..." I believe most posters here are extremely sympathetic to the Spanish people. As Americans we understand the shock such a massacre instills. And this point is true for people of many different countries that have suffered from AQ attacks some of which backed the USA and other that didnt - Turkey, Kenya, Tanzania, Bali/Australia, Morocco, etc. Many of us are disappointed that Spain will likely drop out of the coalition in Iraq. Possibly this will change if there is an UN mandate in Iraq. Still Spain's absence in Iraq is not the real danger. AQ knew that with days to the election, there would be no time for serious political debate and people would react emotionally. In the intermediate term, AQ has provided a tail wind to left wing politicians that will call for equivocation, concessions, dialogues by committees, (see the UK Guardian editorial today) and other meaningless half steps in an attempt to innervate the political support at home for meaningful action. If they have their way, the only response to terrorism will be to put up a bunch of yellow police tape around a bombing site and treat this as yet another crime scene instead of the war that it is. We shouldn't be surprised by this I suppose. The tragic thing is their misguided actions have given AQ a roadmap for turning political tides in the absence of a viable military option. Unfortunately, that will mean yet more civilian dead are to come.

I have to admit that I do find it a bit unsettling that Al Queda action appears to have influenced an election. I was wondering how the swing in the vote occured. Was it as a result of many people being prompted to vote as a result of the attacks (i.e they were non-voting socialist supporters but decided to vote after the attack) or did many Popular Party supporters actually change their vote. I still think it was a resonable exercise in democracy, however. The PM joined the war in Iraq against very strong popular opposition. Ultimately the bombs seem to have brought home that fact. I still think Spain will fight the war in terror, but as the new PM said, it will have to be multilateral.

BTW I have to say I was saddened by the attacks. The Spain is one of my fave European countries as the Spanish have a great attitude on life and living. Here's hoping the attacks won't change the way the Spanish people live their lives.

Tercio, as I wrote elsewhere, the Spanish public is now in line with its government. The vast majority of the Spaniards (80-90% ?) were against the US-led war in Iraq last year, and I must say it was a courageous move for the PPE to follow the Americans. Like many people what astounds me the most is the speed at which the elected new PM Zapatero has decided to quit the coalition and turn its back to the countries' commitment. I know that it was in PSOE's electoral platform but still... What are today's news Tercio? And what about Spain's commitments elsewhere like in Afghanistan?

>>I still think Spain will fight the war in terror, but as the new PM said, it will have to be multilateral.<< You mean Spain was fighting terrorism unilaterally before?

You know what I mean.

If you mean that from now on, Spain will have to wait for france or germany to break wind before the Spanish do anything further in the war on terror, then yes, I think I know what you mean. then again - perhaps not. ;-) E.

Well what I mean, is that Spain will not act without the sanction of a major international organizaton be in NATO or the UN.