United Press International: Madrid bombings carry al-Qaida hallmark: "'It's a declaration of war against democracy,' said Pat Cox, the president of the European Parliament, of Thursday's attacks in Madrid. On that point there is no debate."

I suppose it is true enough that there is no debate in the corporate media/ government echo chamber but some of us would beg to differ with the above nonsensical statement. As is often the case, however, this corporate media article gives way towards the end to some illumination of the matter:

"Spain ... is "an acceptable target" for al-Qaida for is unfaltering support of the United States in the war in Iraq. Spain, along with the United Kingdom, has contributed troops to the war effort, and its prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, showed unflagging support to President George W. Bush and the war effort. Aznar stood side by side with Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a pre-war summit in the Azores... In many ways, Spain was the ideal target. It's a Western European nation, a member of NATO, a U.S. ally and a participant in the war in Iraq. Furthermore, given Spain's experience in combating terrorism over the years, it was far from being a "soft target." As one German intelligence officer lamented, "now the war has reached Europe."

Chomsky once recommended that articles should be read from the bottom up.

United Press International: Madrid bombings carry al-Qaida hallmark: "'It's a declaration of war against democracy,' said Pat Cox, the president of the European Parliament, of Thursday's attacks in Madrid. On that point there is no debate."

I suppose it is true enough that there is no debate in the corporate media/ government echo chamber but some of us would beg to differ with the above nonsensical statement. As is often the case, however, this corporate media article gives way towards the end to some illumination of the matter:

"Spain ... is "an acceptable target" for al-Qaida for is unfaltering support of the United States in the war in Iraq. Spain, along with the United Kingdom, has contributed troops to the war effort, and its prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, showed unflagging support to President George W. Bush and the war effort. Aznar stood side by side with Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a pre-war summit in the Azores... In many ways, Spain was the ideal target. It's a Western European nation, a member of NATO, a U.S. ally and a participant in the war in Iraq. Furthermore, given Spain's experience in combating terrorism over the years, it was far from being a "soft target." As one German intelligence officer lamented, "now the war has reached Europe."

Chomsky once recommended that articles should be read from the bottom up.