PrintSeptember 28, 2004
A new and disturbing alignment
On the surface, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's plan to make common cause with the Islamic world looks mostly naive and maybe a little odd. Spain's history is a fierce crucible in the clash of Islam and the West, after all. And then there's the little matter of al Qaeda, which on March 11 this year blew up four trains in Madrid, killing 200.
To make common cause with these barbarians seems downright un—Spanish, not to mention, gullible. And besides, if Spain wants to be buddy—buddy with moderate states such as its neighbors Tunisia or Morocco, it's hardly news — the countries are already friends. The Prime Minister of Spain is clearly signaling something more ominous.
But Zapatero is a socialist and a pacifist, so a certain willing detachment from reality is to be expected. Look who's stepped up to the plate to make common cause with him on this Islamic alliance. None other than dictator Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. His entry into...(Read Full Article)
