Pen-Elayne on the Web

Shadowy Network

International opinion still appears to be split as to whether the "Madrid Massacre" was perpetrated by ETA (a militant Basque separatist group) or Abu Hafs al-Masri (an Al Qaeda brigade). ETA has disavowed and condemned the bombings, while Al Qaeda has released a statement taking credit not only for them but for things like last summer's US blackout. Some folks in the US intelligence services and the EU police agency note that the atrocity bore little or no resemblance to previous ETA operations, while it does fit the pattern of past Al Qaeda mass murders, and we already know they're inordinately fond of the number 11. In short, I think the only thing on which most thinking folks can agree is that the secondary tragedy in all this is that whoever did it actually feels justified, rather than understanding that the horrific violence only makes the situation worse for them and the non-combatants they've butchered (and does nothing to soften the resolve of their enemies).