Pay attention, George Bush. Your wrongheaded invasion of Iraq has just elected its first socialist government.
In surprise victory, Spain's Socialist Party defeated the ruling centre-right Popular Party in an election obviously overshadowed by the recent terrorist attack in Madrid. Voters apparently reacted to the governing party's handling of the attack, and the fact that it may have been retribution from Al-Qaeda for supporting America's invasion of Iraq.
The Spanish government backed the US-led invasion of Iraq last year despite polls showing 90% opposition to it from the Spanish public.
Even CNN recognized the issue in this election:
Turnout was high at 76 percent with voters seeming to express anger with the government, accusing it of provoking the Madrid attacks by supporting the U.S.-led war in Iraq, which most Spaniards opposed.
...
Many of the millions who rallied for peace on Friday across Spain said they felt Aznar had provoked the attacks by backing the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, according to The Associated Press.
This is true democracy in action. The fact that the former Spanish government could go to war with the United States even though 90% of Spain's people disagreed with the invasion of Iraq made a mockery of democracy. Tony Blair deserves his ass handed to him on a platter for the same reason.
Not surprisingly, the Bush Administration has used the Madrid bombing to suggest people all over the world are threatened by terrorism, ignoring the fact that the countries being targeted, beginning with the United States on 9/11, are countries that cooperated with America in the invasion of Iraq. I'm sure Bush was dancing with glee when those unfortunate people in Madrid became victims. For Bush, this just confirms the presence of a ubiquitous threat. But one has to see these actions in a larger context, based on American foreign policy prior to 9/11 (and certainly after), to appreciate the meaning of these attacks.
The rhetoric of the incoming Spanish Prime Minister is a clear rebuttal of the Bush Administration's unilateral thuggery:
Zapatero said he would seek to increase the prestige of democratic institutions in Spain, and vowed to create a transparent government that "will act from dialogue ... it is a government that will work for peace."
Obviously, terrorist attacks should be condemned. But the world must begin to look more closely at the causes of terrorism, instead of obsessing over the horrific effects because it makes for compelling TV. These events are always more complicated than a simple "they're crazy and we're not" scenario. The fact is, the Arabs have been getting screwed by the West for the past century, first at the hands of the British, and now at the hands of the Americans. We all know the purpose of these colonial excursions is to secure Arab oil for Western consumption. This is not a clash of religious civilizations. This is a clash of colonial powers against the colonized, and the only reason this confrontation exists is oil.
Americans must stop recoiling from this kind of criticism. Everytime someone from outside America suggests American foreign policy is at the root of problems with terrorism, the knee-jerk reaction of America is to say, "What, are you saying you support terrorism?" No, of course not. What people from outside of America are saying is, "You have to see the bigger picture. You have to understand how your way of life affects other countries. You have to take the blinders off and realize that sometimes America is in the wrong. Sometimes America does horrible things to other countries. Sometimes America has many different agendas, and not simply the spread of democracy and free market capitalism."
Who knows: Maybe the election in Spain is just the beginning of a worldwide reaction to the Bush Administration's bullying ways? The power elites in Britain and Spain may have their reasons for supporting Bush, but the people opposed him and his illegal invasion. The people of Spain have rejected George Bush and the misery he has wrought on their country.
The people of Spain weren't blinded by the horrific effects of terrorism. I believe today they have reacted to one of the causes.
6:49:48 PM 
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