"The war against Iraq will not eradicate the threat of terror but, perversely, it may bolster it."
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That was the comment, on the eve of the United States-led invasion of Iraq, of Spanish left-winger Balthazar Garzon, one of the most tireless campaigners against Al-Qaida.
The crusading judge, who currently serves as Spain's prosecutor general, is now running an investigation into some 40 activists suspected of contacts with Al-Qaida. The last of them was extradited Thursday from Jordan to Spain.
Garzon, unlike Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, objected to Spain's participation in the war on Iraq, and publicly declared that he had found no evidence that Saddam Hussein was in contact with Al-Qaida.
Garzon's prophesy about heightened terror may have come true Thursday, if it indeed turns out that Al-Qaida was behind the series of attacks on Madrid trains.
Al-Qaida has three scores to settle with Spain: Aznar allowed Spain to become the European headquarters that enabled President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to present the war on Iraq as a coalition effort, and not a U.S.-U.K. duet; Spain has 1,300 soldiers stationed in Iraq at present; and Spain is in the process of putting a large group of suspected Al-Qaida activists on trial.
For the terror organization, this is enough justification to launch an attack against Spain.
In order to settle its scores, Al-Qaida would need both the opportunity and the ability to carry out an attack. It seems that the organization has already found Spain a relatively convenient place from which to base operations. At least two meetings in the run-up to September 11 were held in Spain, attended by the man who is believed to have masterminded the coordinated attacks on Washington and New York. Al-Qaida cells in Spain were built up around activists who had been sent to the country back in the 1990s, some of whom had married local women, obtained Spanish citizenship and even opened businesses. One owned a photographic supply shop, another was a real estate agent, and the activist responsible for laundering money and sending it back to the organization bosses was a used-car salesman.
Despite the spate of arrests carried out by Spanish authorities, there is no certainty that the terror cells were eradicated. The fear is that extreme Islamic activists are active among the Muslim community that has come to Spain from Algeria, including some known members of radical organizations.
Spain has already been mentioned by Al-Qaida activists as a possible target, along with Britain, Canada, Israel and the U.S. Recent intelligence warnings have led to the cancellation of flights from Europe to the U.S. and Canada, but there has been no specific warning regarding Spain.
If Thursday's attack was carried out by Al-Qaida, it seems that Spain was chosen because it is a relatively "soft target." It is relatively easy to enter the country.
Despite tight controls, it seems that several dozen blank passports were stolen from the Portuguese embassy in Luxembourg. One of them was later found in the possession of a Tunisian Al-Qaida activist who was arrested by German authorities. Some of these passports were passed on to other members of the organization, who used them to gain easy access to Spain
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