US INVASION OF IRAQ FUELS MORE TERROR ATTACKS
So, the shifty-looking little dweeb with the shonky bum-fluff under his nose loses an election all had expected him to win. And why? Because he fudged fact, sought political mileage in a time of alarm and tried to fool a grieving nation. All familiar tactics to Australians suffering the bile, bombast and bullshit of PM John Winnie Howard.
For three days, Prime Minister Aznar blamed the bombings of four jam-packed trains on ETA, the Basque separatist group that has sought independence from Spain for some 40 years.
About 200 people died in the blasts, with some 1500 injured, many horrifically so.
Although the scale of the atrocity was unprecedented, within a few hours the Spanish Foreign Minister ordered Spain’s ambassadors worldwide to blame ETA in no uncertain terms.
And then, just hours before the polls opened in Spain's general election, the Government admitted receiving a video tape in which an Al-Qaeda spokesman said the bombings were reprisal for the country's support for the US-orchestrated invasion of Iraq.
In fact, intelligence agencies throughout Europe believed the bombings were the work of “Islamic extremists”.
Remember, opinion polls showed as many as 90 percent of Spaniards opposed the Iraq war and Aznar’s sucky-sucky collaboration with the Mutated States of Amerikkka.
But even as evidence mounted of an Islamic link to the bombings, Aznar’s government insisted that ETA was responsible.
However, in recent years ETA’s activities have dropped away, with three people killed last year, and 250 ETA members caught by police in France and Spain in the past two years. Police estimate that only 200 or so activists remain.
Incoming Socialist PM Zapatero has pledged to withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops from Iraq if the United Nations does not “take control” by June 30, when Washingtoon desperately hopes to cut and run at last.
Yep, the busy Bushies hope that by the November poll, US voters will have forgotten all about that little fracas. Those who haven’t had their sons and daughters return from George Bush’s Iraq adventure mutilated. Or dead.
Some cross-eyed, knock-kneed, flag-waving wankers have argued that Al-Qaeda atrocities like the Madrid blasts would have occurred anyway, regardless of the US invasion of Iraq.
After all, they say, look at what happened on 11 September 2001. What prompted that horror? What did innocent, peace-loving Amerikkka ever do to harm anyone, anywhere, ever?!
Shee-it! They have GOT to be kidding! 
Among the vast dung pile of deception, duplicity and lies that gushed from the copycat maw of Australia’s PM, the Mendacious Munchkin, was the howler that attacking Iraq would make Australia “safer”.
I guess Aznar tried that one on too.
Following the Madrid bombings, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty agreed with other national security chiefs that terrorists are likely to hit Australia precisely BECAUSE of our irresponsible devotion to duplicitous Amerikkkan aims in Iraq.
Keelty reckons " if this turns out to be Islamic extremists responsible for this bombing in Spain, it's more likely to be linked to the position that Spain and other allies took on issues such as Iraq."
New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney agrees with his assessment, saying Australia is a potential target for terrorists because of its involvement in Iraq.
“If it is al-Qaeda”, says Al-Qaeda expert Maha Azzam of London's Royal Institute of International Affairs, “then it means clearly it's looking for targets anywhere in Europe, anyone who might have supported the US war in Iraq."
According to a letter sent to a London-based Arabic newspaper, and signed 'Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades/al-Qa'ida' : the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades “succeeded in penetrating the crusader European depths and striking one of the pillars of the crusader alliance – Spain.”
The Madrid blasts signalled “the settling of old scores with crusader Spain, America's ally in its war against Islam”.
The statement continued: “Where is America, O Aznar? Who is going to protect you, Britain, Japan, Italy and other collaborators, from us?” 
And in an audiotape attributed to Osama bin Laden and aired by Al-Jazeera on 18 October 2003, the shy old fella with the crook kidneys warned several countries, including Australia:
“We reserve the right to retaliate at the proper time and place against all countries that take part in this unjust war (against Iraq), namely Britain, Spain, Australia, Poland, Japan and Italy.”
Well, isn’t THAT just fucking great! Christ almighty, don’t you all feel so much more “relaxed and comfortable” now! Or are you "alert but not alarmed"? Or maybe you've just cancelled your flight!
And the Oz PM’s attitude in the face of all this madness?
"There is no direct link between what has occurred in Spain and Australia, no direct link at all." 
Well, as we all know, John Winston Howard is a man of his word!
The Antipodean Arselicker can fudge this one all he likes, but it’s out there in black and white and blood red.
We’re on the Al Qaeda’s shit list BECAUSE of HIS support for the US attack on Iraq by the hallucinating Presidense Bush and his gaggle of Cloud Cuckoo Neo-Conmen.
Meanwhile, EX-terrorist state Libya has abandoned its fledgling nuclear weapons program with NO INVASION by foreign forces but after genuine and concerted diplomatic efforts over many years.
That paranoid basketcase North Korea, however, having been threatened by Bush and seen Saddam go down the gurgler, has learned an invaluable lesson:
Amerikkka won’t dare attack any nation that has the means to fight back.
Now that’s what I call global stability.
Oh, but what about that little complication back in Iraq?
It’s been over a year since George Jr put on his fighter pilot fancy dress costume and declared the “mission accomplished”.
But hey, what a surprise: no Saddam-Al Qaeda link, no chemical or biological WMD, no NUCLEAR capacity, no global threat, no fucking army, and a looming civil war on the cards!
In the memorable words of that stalwart US SecDef Donald Rumsfeld (responding to Bob Schieffer on "Face the Nation", CBS, re Saddam’s imminent threat):
“It--my view of--of the situation was that he--he had--we--we believe, the best intelligence that we had and other countries had and that--that we believed and we still do not know--we will know.”
Yep, them’s still fightin’ words, y’all, same as it ever was, with nary a glimmer of reality in view (Wouldn’t you just love to know what mind-altering substance those Washingtoon wackos are on!)
Jesus, is there anyone out there deluded enough to believe any of the Bushies anymore? 
Too bad all the Presidunce’s crackpots took their eye off the Osama bin Laden ball and went haring off after the wrong guy in the wrong place and definitely at the wrong time: Saddass Hussein.
And gee, won’t HE have some interesting historical anecdotes to tell when (if?) he goes on trial! It’s sure to give Amerikkka the shi-ites!
To quote war historian Gabriel Kolko: “America will be more prudent and the world will be far safer only if the Bush Administration is constrained by a lack of allies and isolated.”
Meanwhile, however, global terrorism is blooming like scuzz on an old turd.
This was Max Gross for xenoxnews.com, bringing it on, putting it down, and signing off.