'Aznar got his war, but we got the dead'

[kskiska]

In El Pozo, where one of the trains exploded, the Socialist Party was expecting its usual landslide victory. Many in the neighbourhood had lost friends or family in the explosion. "The government is to blame for the attacks," said Tamara Pizarro, 20. "France and Germany stayed out of the war, so they have nothing to fear. Aznar has blood on his hands."

Until Thursday, Manuel Perez, 66, had been one of the few supporters of the prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, in the barrio. "I've changed my mind," he said. "As a society we need something new." For the first time, he planned to vote for the Socialist candidate.

Ramon Fernandez de Mauro, 33, a supporter of the United Left, said: "The People's Party is engaged in a war. But it isn't our war. He has made this alliance with the United States which we never asked for. I am sorry for you being British because you have the same problem."

"Aznar got his war, but we got the dead," said Victoria Ruiz, 38, a Socialist Party helper at the polling station. She said Spain's involvement in Iraq had given al-Qa'eda a reason to attack it. "Now I am frightened. Al-Qa'eda is not like Eta, it's like a ghost. You don't know who you're fighting."

(snip)

Carlos Esbert, 26, a university professor interviewing voters at the Barrio Salamanca polling station for a study about how the attacks affected the election, said that on the day of the attacks people felt fear and confusion.

The following day they felt pain and sadness. "Now they are feeling anger, which in most cases means they are even more committed to the party they were with before. They don't want to feel the terrorists changed their minds."

more…
http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/03/15/welec115.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/03/15/ixnewstop.html

[pinto]

1. Senora Ruiz, you get the Pulitzer.

"Aznar got his war, but we got the dead". Unbelievably poignant and true.

[DemoTex]

2. To paraphrase: "They" got "their" war ...

We will get years and years of horrendous blow-back. The pain in Spain is just the beginning.

[saigon68]

3. You are right.

The draft is coming and a lot of 18 year old kids are going to die because some old fat white bastards, want to live out some real life War Game fantasy.

[DemoTex]

7. Perpetual Tet '68

Perpetual, my friend. Find yourself a safe hole. Keep your head low. But rejoice, ain't no draft gonna get you or me! Maybe.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

8. Yep, time to do a DemoTex and head for the hills

With luck, we can hold out until the silliness ends.

[0007]

4. Horrendous blow-back ? I hope we can come around to lesson the pain

The Pain in Spain
came down
like falling rain

[DemoTex]

9. Good

And like rain, it (terrorism) will continue to fall. Like rain, it is hard to predict. Stay safe friends.

Mac

[mmonk]

5. You got it

continual blowback to come to the coalition partners, countries that contain US military bases and corporate missionaries as well as another possible strike here (unless we change course).

[Joanne98]

6. terrorism is a political problem

I would support a war on terror, if it included the rest of the fundies. A war on religious fundamentalism. Sounds like a plan.

[DemoTex]

10. What we have is a bunch of boiling pots on a stove:

Christianity, Islam, Judiasm, Hinduism, Budism, etc. All the pots are boiling over. We need leaders with the guts to cut off the gas.

Mac