[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ds-1col clearfix\u0022\u003E\n\n \n\n \n \u003Cp\u003EReporting of the March 11, 2004 train bombings in Madrid was relatively consistent across Western media. The\u003Cem\u003E New York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, the\u003Cem\u003E Washington Post\u003C\/em\u003E, the\u003Cem\u003E Wall Street Journal \u003C\/em\u003Eand the \u003Cem\u003EGuardian\u003C\/em\u003E all emphasized that Spanish authorities were initially implicating the ETA Basque separatist group, but had found a stolen van with detonators and an audio tape with Quranic verses inside that suggested a possible link to Islamic extremists.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, the\u003Cem\u003E New York Times \u003C\/em\u003Eseemed to place more importance on potential al-Qaeda linkages than the other papers did. The paper reported on the 2003 indictment of Syrian businessman Muhammad Galeb Kalaje Zouaydi, who was accused of \u201cdistributing $800,000 for the Qaeda network under the cover of a Spanish real-estate development company.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ETim Golden and Don Van Natta Jr., \u201cBOMBINGS IN MADRID: THE SUSPECTS; Carnage Yields Conflicting Clues as Officials Search for Culprits,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, March 12, 2004, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2004\/03\/12\/world\/bombings-madrid-suspects-carnage-yields-conflicting-clues-officials-search-for.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2004\/03\/12\/world\/bombings-madrid-suspects-carnage-yields-conflicting-clues-officials-search-for.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Moreover, the paper noted that \u201cSpain has continued to serve as an important recruiting, financial and logistical hub for Al Qaeda. Many of the dozens of Islamic terrorism suspects arrested in Spain since the Sept. 11 attacks are believed to be mid-level logistical planners and operatives who have helped move money, either through charities or legitimate businesses\u2026\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ETim Golden and Don Van Natta Jr., \u201cBOMBINGS IN MADRID: THE SUSPECTS; Carnage Yields Conflicting Clues as Officials Search for Culprits,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, March 12, 2004, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2004\/03\/12\/world\/bombings-madrid-suspects-carnage-yields-conflicting-clues-officials-search-for.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2004\/03\/12\/world\/bombings-madrid-suspects-carnage-yields-conflicting-clues-officials-search-for.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, the \u003Cem\u003EGuardian\u003C\/em\u003E pointed out discrepancies with the attacks and the typical behavior of ETA\u2014a Marxist, separatist group. The chief of Europol, the EU police agency, said that, \u201cIt could have been Eta\u2026But we\u2019re dealing with an attack that doesn\u2019t correspond to the modus operandi they have adopted up to now.\u201d The same article also quoted the ETA\u2019s founder, Julen de Madariaga, who simply said that bombing working-class areas was \u201cnot Eta\u2019s method of working.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EGiles Tremlett, \u201cMassacre in Madrid,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EGuardian\u003C\/em\u003E (London), March 11, 2004, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2004\/mar\/12\/alqaida.spain1\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2004\/mar\/12\/alqaida.spain1\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFor its part, the \u003Cem\u003EWall Street Journal\u003C\/em\u003E seemingly downplayed the al-Qaeda connection in its reporting in favor of the ETA-theory, quoting Spain\u2019s then-Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar saying, \u201c[The ETA] tried to blow up trains in Madrid three times now in the past months\u2026And al Qaeda is going to try the fourth time? And succeed three days before the elections?\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ECarlta Vitzthum, Keith Johnson, and Marc Champion, \u201cTrain Bombings Kill At Least 198 in Spain,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EWall Street Journal\u003C\/em\u003E, March 12, 2004, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB107899319607552435\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB107899319607552435\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Aznar also claimed that bomb-laden backpacks were \u201ctypical of the ETA\u2026There\u2019s still the case of the cassette in Arabic, but that\u2019s the only piece of evidence in favor of al Qaeda.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ECarlta Vitzthum, Keith Johnson, and Marc Champion, \u201cTrain Bombings Kill At Least 198 in Spain,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EWall Street Journal\u003C\/em\u003E, March 12, 2004, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB107899319607552435\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB107899319607552435\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n","dialogOptions":{"minWidth":850,"resizable":true,"modal":true,"title":"Madrid Train Bombings"}},{"command":"doFootnotes"}]