The attacks a year later

By Jason Moore A year on from the Madrid bombings and still we don't know the truth. All that we do know is that 191 people died in the worst terrorist attack in Europe. The opposition Partido Popular still maintains that the Basque terrorist group, ETA, was involved and they provided the necessary logistical support to the Islamic terrorists who actually carried out the attack. The government says that it was the work of Al Qaeda who were protesting about the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq. But then there is another school of thought that suggests that the bombings took two years to plan, and therefore it was long before the Iraq war and the Spanish deployment. The parliamentary committee which is investigating the attacks has so far shed little light on the whole affair. The British security services are also involved and they informed their Spanish counterparts two months before the train bombings that Islamic extremists were planning a major terror outrage in Madrid. The role of the media is also being questioned and you have to remember that it was a very sensitive time for Spain with elections that weekend. Anti-government protests allegedly organised by the socialists on the eve of the election and on the “day of reflection” when all campaigning is meant to stop, have been bitterly attacked by the Partido Popular who have also been accused of trying to blame ETA when it was clearly an Al Qaeda attack. The Association of Victims have bitterly criticised the role of the two main parties claiming that they turned the attacks into a political circus; they are demanding the truth also. An independent investigation is perhaps the only way forward; it was a terrible time for Spain and especially Madrid but the families of the victims deserve to know the truth. It is an insult to them if they are just left in the dark without knowing just what happened before and after the terrorist outrage.