How infinitely tragic. My heart bleeds for my Madrid of many happy memories--and my friends there.

is there anyplace that i can call or go to on the internet to get a list of victims if i am not an immediate relative? or find out exactly what trains where involved?
kelly

This tragedy will not be forgotten. As an American, I intend contacting my representatives in Washington, and asking them exactly how much support they've given the Spanish Government in their battle against terrorism. There is no limit as to how far this support should go in their ongoing battle. As the Spanish government stood shoulder to shoulder with us over the Iraqi issue, we must do the same thing for Spain in her time of need.

Let no stone be left unturned, and may the people behind this horrible action be brought to justice as quickly as possible.

We'll continue to pray for the safety of not only our loved ones who may well have been on one of the trains, but everyone else who was killed or injured. There will be retribution for this, and I hope it's swift and final.

Wolf

According to the ABC.es (daily, conservative national newspaper in Spain) article HERE , police are searching for 2 persons whom between 7:00 a.m. and 7:10 a.m. entered and left several trains in the train station of Alcalá de Henares. These two are suspected in leaving backpacks/bookbags full of explosives on the bombed trains.

What can I say?.......My heart goes out......These types of acts have got to stop....We have to crack down......I hope my friends are all right......I "hope the retribution is swift and final."

HERE is the link to the story on Fox News. Anyone with any ideas on how to explain to 15 high school students just what happened here?

Normally I would assume that it was ETA. I'm not so sure though since there was no pre-bomb warning, which is their M.O. If it was "al-Cowarda" though, we'll probably find a couple of arab bodies among the wreckage...what with the promise of paradise for the "martyrs" and all. There were three other undetonated explosive packs found on the trains.

Regarding the "stopping vans" comment: In the above-linked story, they mention stopping at least 1 van with 1100 lbs of explosives on it on 2/29. In a city of more than 5 million you have to weigh the "stop all vans" vs. "spot check." That's the world reality we have now.

I'm confident that the Spanish authorities will find those responsible. Unfortunately, those reponsible are past feeling, and any punishment wouldn't be enough to make them feel otherwise. There is likely no rehabilitation for these sorts of people who delight in shedding blood.

Today's massacre is another witness for the necessity of a death penalty in these sorts of extreme cases. And in the same breath, I pray for those innocent victims and their families that GOD comforts them today going forward.

Peace.

No, there's not 'arab resistance' here. That's some bull**** Arnold Otegui said, as he always does.
Police has determined that the explosive's composition is exactly the same used by ETA in all the recent attacks, and the same intercepted by the police just 15 days ago.
ETA does not always assume its actions immediately, they may wait for the elections to finish.
On top of that, intelligence officers say that there has been a debate inside ETA between the 'hard' wing and the 'soft' wing, guess who won the debate.
This is a huge change in ETA's strategy. May God protect us!

as far as if it was ETA or not, maybe they are just making early assumptions but, after seeing the notice of what happened here on MMs board i went to the spanish building here at my university and parked myself in front of sattelite tv direct from spain to see what what going on. The news there said it was eta, and they had a speech from aznar 'implying' it was eta and promising swift action against them.
off to class i go,
Kelly

Calibasco,
WOw, quite a challenge to explain twisted upon twisted logic to young minds. You'll need your magician's wand. But...my thoughts on this are that (a) you'll need a minimum of a week to go through historical grievances and chronologies. Without this context you would run the risk of trivializing the intensity of feelings involved; (b) try to avoid simplifying matters or reaching the all of nothing conclusion. If ETA were all nut cases, life would be easier. They are not, They put much wasted brainpower into creating an act meant to terrorize and kill and maim; (c) try to present strategic points of view, perhaps providing historical context from your home country (the US?). Of course, it is not the same, but getting kids to understand things from the perspectives of the actors involved would be an invaluable lesson for youngsters.

Your task is both tricky and challenging, but very noble. I wish you all the best.
A

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