All Europeans are victims of the horrific bombs which killed and wounded so many people in Madrid yesterday. They were planned to explode simultaneously, without warning, and were aimed at the most vulnerable of targets. March 11th has been aptly termed "Spain's 9/11".
It was also described early yesterday as "Eta's Omagh", identifying the Basque terrorist group widely suspectedof perpetrating the atrocities, although this has not been confirmed. Credence is being given to a claim last night by a group connected to al-Qaeda that it was responsible. The political fallout in Spain, Europe and the world will be immense. But the strength of Spanish feeling in today's demonstrations and Sunday's general election will affirm the democratic values and the rule of law which must triumph against such violence.
Confronted with the shocking sight of the suffering involved it is difficult indeed to identify any rational motives for these attacks. They must be condemned outright; but they also have to be explained and understood so that effective preventive action can be taken. Initial commentary pointed to previous patterns of violence by Eta, including failed attempts in the last week to plant bombs using similar techniques. The fact that the organisation is weaker and more fissiparous than before may have led a desperate faction to plan this atrocity, in order to assert its continued existence.
The clinical political logic behind an Eta involvement appears deranged in the light of these atrocities. And yet it underlines the fundamental importance of upholding democratic values and the rule of law when confronting the terrorist organisations responsible for them. While initial evidence pointed to Eta, its assumed political wing denied responsibility. It has often given advance warnings and has never attempted anything on this scale. Hence the report that a group with al-Qaeda connections was responsible for the atrocities was gaining in credence last night.
Such conjectures are inseparable from the last hours of an election campaign that has hinged centrally on security issues and how they relate to the structure of the Spanish state. The Basque country, Catalonia and other regions have achieved substantial levels of autonomy from Madrid, which their peoples are determined to preserve and develop. The outgoing prime minister, Mr Aznar, prematurely pointed in the direction of Eta. He used the occasion to call for the unity of the Spanish state. It may be the case that this attack was engendered by his government's support for the United States in Iraq.
In Sunday's voting his party may benefit from yesterday's atrocities; but do they not in fact demonstrate the failure of an exclusively security approach? But, if it is Islamic terror, his government may be held accountable by the voters.
These questions will weigh heavily on Spanish voters, who deserve the sympathy and solidarity of their fellow Europeans as they decide how to respond to Spain's 9/11.