Yes, that headline is absurd. But the absurdity comes from this AFP story. AFP tells us that 11 "South Asians," ten Pakistanis and one Indian, were charged with plotting terror attacks against Spain. Only their nationality is mentioned, as if that is the only salient point here. So are we to conclude that Pakistan, and possibly also India, are moving to declare war on Spain? Or could it be, just possibly, that these would-be suicide attackers have some other motivation to plot against Spain, one that has nothing to do with their nationality, and which AFP leaves unmentioned?
"South Asians charged in Spain with plotting suicide attacks," from AFP, June 5 (thanks to Cindy):
MADRID (AFP) - A judge in Spain Thursday filed terrorism charges against 11 South Asians, most of them Pakistanis, suspected of planning suicide attacks in Barcelona and elsewhere in Europe.Ten of those charged were arrested in Barcelona, northeastern Spain, in January in raids during which police also recovered bomb-making equipment....
All 11 were charged with belonging to a terrorist group.
Eight were additionally accused of possessing explosives, even though explosives seized at the time of the arrests "did not have the capacity to cause major damage," Moreno said in the indictment, a copy of which was obtained by AFP from judicial sources....
The cell is suspected of planning suicide bombings in the Barcelona metro and other European cities.
After the arrests, Spain's intelligence services had warned Paris, London and Lisbon of the threat of terrorist attacks linked to a European tour by Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in February that the cell was linked to Pakistani Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud, suspected by officials in Islamabad of involvement in the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto....
Three of those arrested in Barcelona had been tasked with carrying out suicide bombings, and had recently arrived in the city, while three others were allegedly explosives experts, the judge said.
The indictment identified nine of the 11 as Pakistanis and one as an Indian. The nationality of another man was not mentioned, but Spanish media identified him as Indian.
l thought the Spanish would be spared from the islamists attacks when they voted down their govnernment and brought back to troups out of iraq? /sar off..
a lesson to those heads in the sand.. backing down from islamists only incourages more attacks, as you appear weak to islamists, islamists only respect military power and can only be destroyed by such.
that is why in the ME, only military dictators can control islamists and not a Western type democracy.
Nope, no jihadis here. Nothing to see. Move along folks.
No Muslim nation should control their Islamists.
The evil of Islam needs to destroy the economies of each and every Muslim nation.
The natural progression towards "Talibinization" of the ME should be fostered.
I didn't know Pakistan was in 'South Asia'.
Just where is 'South Asia' anyway? Is it a real place?
Spain was a colonial power in the Phillipines for almost four centuries. Magellan was killed there in a battle with a local Muslim chieftain, Lapu-Lapu. Are Muslims still upset about this?
At what point will the Europeans finally admit that the Islamist extremists represent the greatest threat? I hope it's not when hundreds or more are dead.
Neal5x5,
There could be thousands dead, and it's more likely the people, if not the leadership, will decide it's all the fault of the US. Most still see the US as the greatest threat to world peace. To admit otherwise would require they give up on more than four centuries of hating America. The American presence in Europe beginning in 1944 has been tolerated, if not resented, by Europeans. This upstart nation has always been a thorn in their side.
"Yes, that headline is absurd. But the absurdity comes from this AFP story. AFP tells us that 11 "South Asians," ten Pakistanis and one Indian, were charged with plotting terror attacks against Spain. Only their nationality is mentioned, as if that is the only salient point here."
The next thing the media will probably do, is to directly blame these Islamist terrorist attacks on religious groups that didn't commit them. This is already practiced in India, vide this quote by Koenraad Elst:
"Similarly, a series of bomb blasts against Christian churches in South India was automatically blamed on the Hindu nationalists. In that version, the story made headlines around the world: Hindu bomb terror against Christians. Hindu organizations alleged that it was a Pakistani operation, a blame-shifting exercise which only earned them ridicule and contempt. Yet, when two of the terrorists blew themselves up by mistake, their getaway car led the police to their network, and the whole gang was arrested. It turned out to be a Muslim group, a section of the Deendar Anjuman , with headquarters in Pakistan. But this was not reported on the front-pages in India nor made the topic of flaming editorials; and in the international media, it was not reported at all. In the worldwide perception of Hindu nationalism, the false association with raping nuns and bombing churches has stuck."
http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/articles/Religious.html
Duh_swami
Actually, South Asia is the term given to the Indian subcontinent, and usually includes India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Sometimes, people include Burma and Afghanistan in this.
On this story itself, it's funny how 10 out of 11 plotters being Paki gets termed 'most' rather than 'virtually all'. Had they said 11 Pakistanis, they'd have been virtually correct - one can bet that the one Indian Mohammedan willing to take part in such a plot wouldn't object to being called a Paki.
Can't the Religion of War just start leaving other people alone?
@PMK, they want Al-Andalus back.
islamic aggression has nothing to do with anything we did to them. muslims believe islam should rule the world.
Spain is on the border of the muslim world. It's a beachhead to the rest of Europe.