Madrid Attacks May Have Targeted Election
Seven months after bombs exploded aboard morning commuter trains in Madrid, killing 191 people, the precise motives of the attackers remain unclear. But new evidence, including wiretap transcripts, has lent support to a theory that the strike was carefully timed to take place three days before a national election in hopes of influencing Spanish voters to reject a government that sent troops to Iraq. Some analysts argue that the placement of important clues — particularly a videotaped claim of responsibility by a masked Islamic militant discovered two days after the March 11 attacks — was aimed at quickly establishing that the attacks were a reaction to the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq and generating a backlash against the ruling Popular Party.Full Story