Spain & terrorism (catch all)

[davidbfpo]

An interesting, if perplexing report from Cadiz, Spain, following the arrest of three suspects, two who appear to be Chechens and a Turk, married to a Spanish Moroccan, who worked in Gibraltar. Who are suspected to be LeT operatives working with or on the behalf of AQ.

The BBC report:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19091753

There is more detail on the Spanish newspaper El Pais report:http://politica.elpais.com/politica/...87_980097.html

A different possible attack method has been emphasised:

Western intelligence services were on the trail of this command for several months. The General Information Office detected its presence in Spain for about a month, when they arrived from France. Had trained in glider flight, so the police suspect they were going to use these devices to carry out an attack from the air. Police recalled that the area where they lived detainees is very close to the Rock and the joint Spanish-American naval base at Rota.

[davidbfpo]

A "lurker" has recommended this review of the difficulties with such a use of powered hang gliders:http://voices.yahoo.com/five-disadva...rs-608852.html

[davidbfpo]

A lengthy Daily Mail article, with some speculation and a lot of detail about the ex-Spetsnaz, Russian national who had turned to helping AQ:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml

[Bill Moore]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/07/world/...sts/index.html

Spain 'al Qaeda cell' may have planned strike to coincide with Olympics

Spanish security suspect the cell was testing a remote-controlled plane as a potential bomber. Spanish investigators found a video in which Yalcin was flying a remote-controlled airplane, according to Reinares.

The footage showed the plane, which was about three meters long, being maneuvered into a descent. Two packets were then seen dropping from either wing of the plane following his command.

"In the images he can't help expressing his joy for the successful try," Reinares told CNN. "Terrorists innovate and adapt to security measures, we have to always keep this in mind," he added.

This cell had some creative individuals, which is a sign of things to come as terrorists adapt new technology and adjust their tactics. We'll likely continue to hear the statements from self proclaimed experts telling us that terrorist use of hang gliders and remotely controls planes is improbable and list reasons why that make sense to someone using Western logic and thinking conventionally, much like the experts did prior to 9/11 when they down played the threat about terrorists hijacking commercial airlines and crasing them into targets. What we think is improbable now will be the new normal tomorrow.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe...415562580.html

The judge's decision, released on Sunday, said video evidence seized from Yalcin could "rationally suggest the preparation" of an attack and that the explosives found in the Turk's home had a "seriously deadly potential."

Given the links between the three men since May, and given that Yalcin had "paid for the travel expenses and journey to Spain" for the two Russians, the judge decided to also charge the two for possession of explosives.

A hat tip to those who did the good police and intelligence work.

[AdamG]

Spain ‘won’t have enough tanks’: Catalonia to vote on independence, defy Madrid

The Catalan regional parliament has set November next year for a referendum on the Spanish province’s independence. The government in Madrid blandly said the vote won’t happen, but activists wonder how it might be stopped.

http://rt.com/news/catalonia-indepen...endum-date-188

[davidbfpo]

A lengthy update on terrorism and reconciliation in Spain, principally the long struggle between ETA and its opponents (including the Spanish state) until ETA declared a permanent ceasefire two years ago:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25349626

Given the often strong public role in the conflict, with mass demonstrations against ETA's actions, this is not a process involving minority groups.

[davidbfpo]

A new book 'Endgame for ETA:Elusive Peace in the Basque Country' by Teresa Whitfield, pub. by Hurst. From their website:

The violent Basque separatist group ETA took shape in Franco’s Spain, yet claimed the majority of its victims under democracy. For most Spaniards it became an aberration, a criminal and terrorist band whose persistence defied explanation. Others, mainly Basques (but only some Basques) understood ETA as the violent expression of a political conflict that remained the unfinished business of Spain’s transition to democracy. Such differences hindered efforts to ‘defeat’ ETA’s terrorism on the one hand and ‘resolve the Basque conflict’ on the other for more than three decades.

Endgame for ETA offers a compelling account of the long path to ETA’s declaration of a definitive end to its armed activity in October 2011. Its political surrogates remain as part of a resurgence of regional nationalism — in the Basque Country as in Catalonia — that is but one element of multiple crises confronting Spain.

The Basque case has been cited as an example of the perils of ‘talking to terrorists’. Drawing on extensive field research, Teresa Whitfield argues that while negotiations did not prosper, a form of ‘virtual peacemaking’ was an essential complement to robust police action and social condemnation. Together they helped to bring ETA’s violence to an end and return its grievances to the channels of normal politics.

Link:http://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/endgame-for-eta/