The Laughing Wolf

Some Thoughts Of Spain

The enemy has won a new round, and it is difficult this morning to find cause for optimism. Indeed, there is cause for pessimism and concern. A major ally has fallen, and the way of that fall must not be misunderstood. Instead, it must be recognized for what it truly is, and some of the things that led to it must be stopped.

The bombings of last Thursday were one of the most cynical and cold-blooded efforts to influence an election that I can recall. The Reichstag fire was nothing compared to it, and those who did it counted on it having the impact that it did. They wanted to sway the election, and succeeded most likely beyond their wildest dreams. Just as they did on 9-11.

While the Old Media breathlessly touts the Al Qaeda connection, the New Media notes the troubling fact that this event matches neither typical Mid-Eastern or ETA events. There is the fact that ETA attempted something similar Christmas Eve, and there is the fact that some of the elements of the attacks do fit some parts of more typical Al Qaeda and related operations. This hybrid has worked damnably well, and has muddied the waters in a way that those in any part of the spectrum who choose to do so can deny whatever they want to deny.

It has also allowed those who want to claim something to do so, with predictable results. Even as the government pointed to ETA, socialist media organs picked up the Al Qaeda angle and ran with it for all they could, and a great deal of effort was made to give them such. Indeed, it is a suspiciously strong effort and one clearly planned in advance. I make no accusation of collusion, for that was not needed – those involved counted on certain responses and got them.

Nor will I condemn those that used this for political gain, for that would be pointless. There have always been those that put the party ahead of all else, and the socialists simply did what everyone expected them to do.

Nor did our government help the matter. Even as the embattled government of one of our staunchest allies fought for its life and its participation in the War on Terror, the administration immediately gave the socialists exactly what they wanted and needed, bleating about Al Qaeda before the echoes of the explosions died away. I expect such ham handedness out of State, for that has been a hallmark of that organization for most of my lifetime. The other organizations that jumped on this to beat their own drums, however, was extremely disappointing if not terribly surprising.

The net result of all of this was a crushing blow to a strong and important ally. It has given ETA and Al Qaeda the government they want; it will see Spanish troops pulled from Iraq; it will cost us intelligence and assistance in an area used for planning 9-11 and most likely other attacks; and, it will rob the war of other assets being provided by and through Spain. Most of all, it robs us of the lone voice in Western Europe who dared stand against the French.

It also raises a warning flag for us here at home. This was much more than an attempt just to influence the Spanish elections, but our own as well. We would be wise to recognize this and face it squarely, but some of the same conditions exist here as existed in Spain.

Here, we also have people who place the party ahead of the country, and most especially ahead of the Citizens who are the government of this country. We have a media – the Old Media – that is biased and extremely predictable. Indeed, it is manipulated all the time, sometimes willingly and sometimes not. We would be fools not to think that they were targets of manipulation this time, and that if all went to plan that further and stronger efforts will be made.

It is a given that there will be more attacks, and more attacks here in the United States. Anyone who gives it more than a passing thought can figure that out. What will decide much is when and where they take place. There was a reason that the attacks in Spain took place just three days before elections, for the persons responsible for it knew that emotions would be high, and that those emotions could be controlled for their benefit. The same holds true here. We ignore or forget that at our peril.

Spain is a tragedy on many levels. My heart goes out to the families of those who died and were injured, for they are the immediate human tragedy. With the loss of Spain to the War and to the Coalition, I fear that they will not be the only human tragedy, and that more will follow as a result. I also fear that if we do not learn from the lessons of this event, that this tactic will be used again to manipulate elections and governments, for our enemies have learned. They have learned that the governments as they are today will fight them, and that they have no chance against us on the battlefield. They have also learned that they can win on different fields, and that they can achieve their ends in different ways.

We should fear this as we fear nothing else. We can still lose this war, or worse yet condemn generations to come to a life of fear, of lives nasty, brutish, and short. We are once again asked if we can carry through, and it is up to each of us to answer. Our answer will once again decide much, but it is now an answer that is much more in doubt than ever before.

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