[karajorma]

I wasn't actually responding to you SnakeEyes. You managed to sneak on in before me

[Thorn]

Originally posted by TopAce
What makes you think: Why terrorists never attempt to attack military targets?

Go after a military base and get caught and/or gunned down before you get close enough to do any significant damage. Go after a train station, where you can pretty much walk right in unhindered.
These guys arent that stupid.

[karajorma]

Just cowardly.

[Ghostavo]

It's sad when something like this happens...

This isn't ETA style at all... there were explosives set to blow after the actual strike. ETA wants to get support, not kill it, so all we're left to wonder is... who was it?

[IncendiaryLemon]

ETA has used bombs in the past, but always has called in advance to warn that bombs were going off so civilian deaths and injuries would be minimized. ETA has always been politically sensitive to the fact that if it started killing large numbers of civilians many Spaniards would turn against ETA -- as would many Basque nationalists -- because wholesale massacres would hurt Basque hopes for autonomy and independence from Madrid. These attacks, and the fact that Madrid rushed to blame ETA, already have hurt Basque nationalist hopes. The Batasuna spokesman blamed Arab Resistance, a little-known group that Osama bin Laden reportedly has mentioned in tapes, so the possibility that this was Islamic militants is high. Spain did support the war on Iraq, as did Italy, so if this was Islamic militants then we should anticipate attacks of this kind in Italy as well.

http://www.stratfor.com/

[SnakeEyes]

Sorry for slipping too fast Kara.

History shows that ETA has always mainly attacked Police, military personel and politics.

Though as DiamondGeezer said before... from time to time striking regular civilian population keeps fear in their hands......

ETA is mutated from the original beliefs in 1968 when the group was originally formed to fight against a Dictatorial Government.
As they say, now they only seek the independence of their region.
But also the behaviour of the group is changed with time and If they are finally the responsable group for these attacks..... It's difficult to know what something else, apart from fear, they are intending to gain (good words IncendiaryLemon).

192 deaths and more than 1000 wounded in March the 11th 2004. (and still counting for what it seems...)

[Liberator]

Granted I don't know anything about the ETA(what the hell does that stand for anyway) being from the States and all, but if they are a politically focused group, regardless of their tactics, this action doesn't do their cause any good.  The Spanish government is foolish for declaring them the enemy so early, or maybe, now that I think about it, they aren't.  If the Spanish government can pin this to the ETA, they can stir public opinion against the ETA and use this as an excuse to take the ETA out.

[SnakeEyes]

There is a big mix of interests in all this......

ETA is a basque acronym and stands for "Euskadi Ta Askatasuna" wich means "Euskadi (wich is the basque name for the basque region) and liberty"

I was mistaken before...ETA was born in 1958

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Gank
Aye, though I think its more over the fact that Spain occupies two northern Moroccan towns Sebta and Melillia. That and the war on Iraq and Islamic terrorists would seem to be the most logical culprits. Spain seems fairly sure its Eta though.

i did not know that.

Oh, and don't rule out ETA working with an Islamic fundamentalist group......

[karajorma]

Originally posted by SnakeEyes
History shows that ETA has always mainly attacked Police, military personel and politics.

I would expect someone from Barcelona to know quite well that ETA hasn't only attacked those types of target though.

With their support rapidly dwindling this could be a desperate move to make them not look like the sort of idiots in America who go on about how the south will rise again.

As for the style of the attack the last two attacks by ETA were designed to stop tourism into the country by attacking holiday resorts and a commercial airport. It looks as though they are shifting tactics.

[Liberator]

The South doesn't need to rise again, we're quite content to know we're the center of the nation.

[karajorma]

Originally posted by Liberator
The South doesn't need to rise again, we're quite content to know we're the center of the nation.

Which, if true, makes them even bigger idiots then doesn't it?

[Gank]

Originally posted by aldo_14
Oh, and don't rule out ETA working with an Islamic fundamentalist group......

Or a splinter group like the Real IRA deciding things werent bloody enough for them.
I'm inclined to believe it wasnt Eta though, most terrorist organisations claim responsibilty for what they've done unless something goes wrong and in this case the aim seems to have been to kill as many people as possible.

Lib, the south is the centre of the country?

[Thorn]

The south is the center of the US like the US is the center of the universe....

[Rictor]

Spain was/is one of the biggest supporters of Bush's foreign policy. This seems to be someone paying them back for that. Pure speculation of course.

Hmm, from what I know, Spaniards were largley ciritical of their government's stance of Iraq. Sucks it had to be the people that got retaliated against

[ionia23]

Originally posted by TopAce
What makes you think: Why terrorists never attempt to attack military targets?

Military targets can fight back.

Give a terrorist a choice between blowing up a miliary barracks with 50 solidiers inside and a nursery with 200 preschoolers, the choice will be obvious.

It's about body count and shock value.  People aren't often "shocked" by a bunch of soliders getting killed as that's unfortunately part of what they get paid for.

[Gank]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=4&u=/nm/20040311/ts_nm/security_spain_qaeda_dc_1

Al-Queda claiming it.

[ionia23]

Originally posted by Gank
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=4&u=/nm/20040311/ts_nm/security_spain_qaeda_dc_1

Al-Queda claiming it.

Any evidence yet to back it?

what a damned shame....

[SnakeEyes]

Originally posted by karajorma


I would expect someone from Barcelona to know quite well that ETA hasn't only attacked those types of target though.

 

Geeeeezzzz Karajorma... I said mainly not only.......

About the turist "possible attacks" there's been a lot of speculation on that matter and also....

I've studied history, I've been in the basque region a couple of times and also I listen to the news often. Be sure I know what I'm talking about.

Anyway......It seems now that Al Qaeda is probably the author of the attacks so.... maybe...you might find that some things I said before have meaning.

[Zuljin]

*sigh*
this only adds fuel to the flame..

If they are going after the supporters for the Iraq war, there are many other possible countries that might have terrorist acts against them in the near future, as said earlier, Italy for example, or even Britain or the US again.
meh...this could get really ugly (as if it wasn't already)