THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VI, Issue # 54, March 16, 2004
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE SPANISH ELECTION & THE WAR ON TERRORISM:
SPAIN DECIDED TO RUN AWAY FROM THE FIGHT
By Alan Caruba
The election in Spain that turned the government over to the Socialists sent a clear message to al-Qa'ida. Their bombing worked.
Reportedly, much of the Spanish population did not want to join the U.S.-led coalition to impose regime change on Iraq. Now they
have decided to sit on the sidelines of the global Jihad, but they will learn some very harsh lessons in the process.
As far as the Jihadists are concerned, any show of weakness is always an invitation to attack again. Moreover, on March 11, an
al-Qa'ida dispatch published in the Arabic newspaper, Al-Quds Hafs al-Masri, crowed about having penetrated “one of the
pillars of the crusade alliance, Spain.”
“This is part of settling old accounts with Spain, the crusader, and America’s ally in its war against Islam,” said the al-Qa'ida
dispatch that took credit for the bombings.
Al-Qa'ida is always referencing the “Crusade” because they know that the true believers among them, an estimated hundred million
out of the more than one billion worldwide, regard the Crusades as a dark period of retreat from the holy land. It wasn’t until 1187 that
Saladin was able to recapture Jerusalem. The last of the Crusaders were defeated in 1291 at Acre.
Simply stated, one of the goals of the Jihad is to reclaim Spain for Islam. Europe, too.
In 711 AD, Muslims, after having taken over all of northern Africa, invaded Spain and established Islam there. They would remain in
Spain for seven centuries, until driven out by El Cid. In 732 AD, the effort of the Muslims to invade France was defeated at Poitiers,
halting their northward expansion into Europe. However, it would take until 1492 before Christians captured Grenada, the last Muslim
stronghold in Spain.
Reportedly, after the bombings in Madrid, the French either contemplated or actually did close their border with Spain. Either way,
the fact remains that there are over five million Muslims in France and they are second-class citizens there. All of Europe is in for a
period of terrorist attacks and, when the tourism drops off, their already weak economies will begin to tank.
By showing the white flag of defeat, the people of Spain may think they have bought some time for themselves and that the Jihad’s
show of power will end, but they simply do not understand the Arab mindset.
For more than fifty years of Israeli-Arab conflict, every time the Israelis offered any steps toward a peaceful resolution with the
Palestinian Arabs, the former were attacked. Despite having been repeatedly defeated in five wars, the Arab terror war continues
unabated. One would think Spain and all of Europe would have learned something from that, but instead of identifying the real
enemy, Europe continues to condemn the Israelis for wanting to live in their ancient homeland.
The memories of the Jihadists go back centuries. They see themselves as a vanguard of a new holy war to spread Islam. Spain is
just the first stop on the conversion of Europe, and America is now just a little more isolated in its effort to confront this enemy.
The al-Qa'ida dispatch taunted the premier of Spain, whose party has been defeated. “Aznar, where is America? Who will protect
you, Britain, Japan, Italy and others from us?”
If, in November, America rejects the leadership of George W. Bush and the policy of confronting the Jihad in the Middle East where
it is brewed, life is going to become quite grim here in the U.S.A.. Like the Spanish did on Sunday, we will have signaled retreat
and defeat.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Europe, Europeans, & American Foreign Policy
The Middle East & the Arabs
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, Communications Director of the American Policy Center,
and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly
column, "Warning Signs," posted on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center
(www.anxietycenter.com). A compilation of his past col- umns, entitled Warning Signs, is published by Merril Press. In addition
to Warning Signs, Caruba is the author of A Pocket Guide to Militant Islam and The United Nations vs. the United States,
both of which are available from the National Anxiety Center, 9 Brookside Road, Maplewood, New Jersey, 07040.
Copyright 2004 Alan Caruba
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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