Reuters is reporting that the Spanish government, in the hours after the Madrid attacks, told its ambassadors to “use any opportunity to confirm ETA’s responsibility for these brutal attacks, thus helping to dissipate any type of doubt that certain interested parties may want to promote.” The report initially appeared in Spanish-language El Pais.
This appears to be blatant politicking ahead of the Spanish election (in which Aznar is not running, but clearly has a horse). The guidance was sent by Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio before any of the facts were in. (And the facts appear to be looking more like Al-Qaeda than ETA: Spanish intelligence is reportedly “99 percent certain” the attack was carried out by Islamic terrorists, according to Spanish-language radio quoted by Reuters).
Is lying about the Madrid train bombing to improve your electoral chances better or worse than using World Trade Center footage to improve your electoral chances?
There must have been something in the tap water at that Azores summit.
