Spain and Terrorists, Pawns and Kings

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On March 11, 2004, terrorist bombs tore through commuter trains in Madrid, Spain. As of this writing there have been 201 deaths, with 1500 wounded and with 220 still fighting for their lives. Three days after the bombings, Spanish elections were held and the socialists in Spain became the surprise landslide victors after eight years of being on the outs. Many in Europe are calling the election results a travesty for Spain and a victory for the terrorists.

The conservative Popular Party in Spain experienced a sore defeat in Sunday's general election, falling from 183 seats to 148. The Socialists blamed the conservatives for having brought the bombings on Spain by supporting the war in Iraq. They also accused the conservatives of lying and hiding the Al Qaeda connection from the people of Spain (though the investigation of the bombings had just started). In these political attacks, the Socialists swayed the Spanish people in three days and defeated the successful Popular Party - which had maintained a thriving economy in Spain in spite of hard times in Europe.

Prime Minister José María Aznar, who had strongly supported President Bush and the coalition in removing Saddam Hussein from office, will be replaced by Socialist Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Zapatero had pledged during his campaign to bring Spain's 1300 troops home, and he reiterated on Monday that if the U.S. did not hand over control of Iraq to the U.N., he would do so by June 30.

Several politicians and intellectuals in Europe are greatly disappointed by Sunday's election results. Spain's foreign minister Ana Palacio said that it was impossible to buy off terrorism, and that even Muslim countries that opposed the war in Iraq - Morocco, Indonesia, Turkey - had been attacked by Al Qaeda. Many believe that the Spanish people did exactly what the terrorists wanted and were played for fools.

"The message to bin Laden would be that bombing, killing pays off," said Friedbert Pfluger, the foreign policy spokesman in the Bundestag of Germany's opposition Christian Democratic Party. "To leave Iraq now, where there is an attempt to build peace, where there is no war now, is so naïve, and it's appeasement at its worst… Television reports in Germany have gone absolutely crazy. They're suggesting this decision serves the Americans right. It's a kind of legitimation of terrorism. Europe must not bow its head before these terrorists."

"Al Qaeda won the election," said a former conservative member of the Spanish Parliament, Pedro Schwartz. "It's easy to say, 'We're neutral now, and let the rest of the people get ready for the bombs.' It's appeasement. The terrorists have gotten away with it. There's no better victory for them than in cowing the enemy."

A French intellectual and political essayist, Andre Glucksmann, pointed out that Aznar's Popular Party had lead in the polls until the attack, in spite of their support for the war. "In three days," he said, "the killers turned public opinion around. How can the murderers not come to the conclusion that they're the ones who decide and that terrorism is stronger than democracy? If the Socialists keep their promise to pull out of Iraq, they will be backing the terrorists' deepest conviction: that crime pays, and the greater the horror, the more effective it is. Afraid of punishing the real responsible party, Spain pointed instead at a virtual responsibility…"

And while Spain's voters have played into the terrorists' hands, Europe wonders, "Who will be the next victim?"