Spain Decides To Run Away
By Alan Caruba (03/15/04)
The election in Spain that turned the government over to the Socialists sent a clear message to al Qaeda. Their bombing worked.
Reportedly, much of the population did not want to join the US-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 Qaeda 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 Qaeda dispatch that took credit for the bombings.
Al Qaeda 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 invaded Spain and established Islam there after having taken over all of northern Africa. They would remain in Spain for seven centuries until driven out by El Cid. An effort in 732 AD 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, every time the Israelis offered any steps toward a peaceful resolution with the Palestinians they 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 Qaeda 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. Like the Spanish did on Sunday, we will have signaled retreat and defeat.
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