bart Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Spain arrests 14 terror suspects More arrests have not been ruled out Bomb-related material has been found during raids in Barcelona which led to the arrest of 14 people suspected of links with an Islamist terror network. Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said the suspects included 12 from Pakistan and two from India. Local media reports that the Spanish intelligence agency had warned France, the UK and Portugal that a terror cell was preparing an imminent attack. This coincides with a European tour by Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. Radical threat Police said timers and other potential bomb making material was found The Civil Guard detained the suspects in Barcelona as part of a joint operation with Spain's National Intelligence Centre (CNI). Several premises were searched and officers seized computers and materials to produce explosives. The operation is ongoing and more arrests have not been ruled out. Mr Rubalcaba said the evidence suggested that they were faced with "a radical Islamist group with a significant level of organisation which seems to have taken a step beyond ideological radicalisation". Let's be as cautious as is advisable in these cases Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero Spanish prime minister He said the group appeared to have been "planning to equip itself with material to make explosives and so to carry out violent actions". Spain suffered at the hands of Islamist militants in 2004 when 191 people were killed in the Madrid train bombings. Most of the 21 people convicted of the attacks were found to have been part of a local Islamist militant group inspired by al-Qaeda, but not part of that organisation. Election issue Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that it was too early to arrive at any conclusions as to what the suspects might have been planning. "Let's be as cautious as is advisable in these cases, with regard to the scope, intentions and what this potential group of radical Islamist activists represented," he said. The BBC's Steve Kingstone, in Madrid, says domestic security will be a key issue in the run-up to Spain's general election, in two months time. The governing Socialist Party says that, during its four-year term of office, 300 Islamist militants have been arrested. -------------- One of the reasons why I live here, I was fed up of the fear factor in the UK since 9/11, 3/11, 7/7.... Its sad I hope they dont plan attack anywhere espically here, they dont have the money to counter this like they do in the UK and the people dont want a war.. they pulled out of IRAQ as they were fed up of the climate it caused... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Rose Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 And I bet all those which got arrested will be released in a few weeks time with no charges being made against them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazeboflossUK Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Yep, probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share Posted January 19, 2008 They say they found explosives this time... I will be honest I can belive this one, I have seen some dodgy things going on a area they call Ravalestan. The Raval area of Barcelona locals will know what I am talking about... The Local Authorites just don´t have the money or resourse to stop this over here, they have more important things to worry about, like keep the streets clean, and organising huge parties free concerts etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RICK8 Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Then they will re-offend and the cycle will keep going round and round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck kottke Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 What fuels the young who join these groups? Are there pockets of poverty in this area of Barcelona?? Do they feel shut out of Spanish society, or motivated by some other unfortunate event in the Arab world? I am trying to understand what conditions lead to individuals choosing such a radical path. We can hardly defuse anything, if there are some socio-economic problems leading to this. (It's hard to brianwash/radicalize anyone if there circumstances are OK, and their family or bretheren are not being seriously harmed, perceived or otherwise..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck kottke Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Daryl, what do you think of Perves Musharraf? Is he hiding something? I get the impression he dances with the devil, so-to-speak, in somehow allowing the tribal regions to hide many radical elements, in part because he holds ties to them. But how far does this extend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart Posted January 20, 2008 Author Share Posted January 20, 2008 I really don´t know. He has a lot of power becuase of Pakistans nukes, and the west are desprate that the country of Pakistan does not fall into the wrong hands. I really don´t what to say on this one.. ! I have a couple of friends who are off Pakistand desent and they have confliction view about Perez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck kottke Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Thanks! Yes, Pakistan has nukes, but I think it's unlikely that any reasonable country would use them except in an extreme and protracted war; even Musharraf I think would be unlikely to resort to this, except as a bargaining chip and bulwark against invasion. (at least this is my hope!) I did watch an interview of him on CBS's 60-minutes recently, and he danced around the issue of Bhutto's assaination - he would never say definitely that he was not involved, but kept saying how she should have used more common sense to protect herself; that she took too many chances, and there's always a threat of attack. Well, all true, but he never came down and said "Definitely not. I had nothing whatsoever to do with it". That's what troubles me about him. Hmm.. fall into the wrong hands? I wonder if Pakistan is already in the wrong hands! Of course there could be worse, or better.. But given the horrific nature of terror networks, he's shielding some very very bad people from arrest, I sense. After watching a Frontline special on the War on Terror, I think Musharraf has a dualistic nature - appease the west, then appease the terrorists, then... And he's a military dictator, so as far as wanting representative government, I think he likes to look in favor of it, but in reality, maybe not so much. I've read a few of the Pakistani papers, and they appeared quite open about the problems there - one good sign is open discussion and less censorship (or, less apparent censorship). I suppose your friends might have mixed feelings - I do too! I think Musharraf walks a tight-rope, and refuses to allow others to govern. I hope that eventually someone with a greater sense of justice eventually leads, and their nation (as well as ours) gets freed from corrupt leadership. Whew, got on a subject there.. Thanks again for the discussion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart Posted January 22, 2008 Author Share Posted January 22, 2008 What fuels the young who join these groups? Are there pockets of poverty in this area of Barcelona?? Do they feel shut out of Spanish society, or motivated by some other unfortunate event in the Arab world? I am trying to understand what conditions lead to individuals choosing such a radical path. We can hardly defuse anything, if there are some socio-economic problems leading to this. (It's hard to brianwash/radicalize anyone if there circumstances are OK, and their family or bretheren are not being seriously harmed, perceived or otherwise..) I dont know what makes people think the way they do. Oh why whatever happens... Time will tell.. As regards of BCN it has problems just like any other city. Seems to be a place in some respects where it would be easy to hide.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart Posted January 22, 2008 Author Share Posted January 22, 2008 One thing today, I got a free local newspaper, and this story just had a snipet on page 11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Rose Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 It's just creating a feeling of fear that terrorists might attack again. So when that feeling of fear is relaxed, the rulers decide to create more fear by arresting some people, make it out that those people had dangerous weapons and explosives and were plotting to do a terror attack, just to make people more fearful. Am I on the right lines Gareth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 It was all over the papers this morning and on the news they had plans to bomb the Metro system in Barcelona.. If they had done that I would have personally, got very upset indeed. http://article.wn.com/view/2008/01/19/Spanish_Minister_14_Terror_Suspects_Arrested_May_Have_Planne/?template=cheetah-article%2Fdisplayarticle.txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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