First, Thanks for your Observation that you Report / View as you may Have.

Lies about ETA? Maybe, just Maybe so. But I generally Don't Think that the Aznar Government would just Outright Lie like that. Maybe, but I Don't Think so. I Think they are a Better, More Self Respecting Group, than that!

I Hasten to Add that I'm Not all that Knowledgeable on Spanish Public Affairs or Politics. But I have some Very Basic Familiarity there.

Azner and Co. could Genuinely have Suspected the Basques / ETA., There in those Initial Moments and Days.

The Basque Separatists only have at least a Decades Long Track Record of Independence Aspirations, -Certainly Not All Terroristic. But Terrorism and Other Violence has Long Been a Large Player in their Affairs as well!

I'm remaining Neutral on Both Basque Aspirations for Independence, and Greater Spain's Wish that they Remain a Part of Spain, -here.

But the Basque Area has Long been a Source of Major Terrorism, and Thruout Spain, -Not Only in the Basque Region Itself.

It is Only Reasonable and Natural, to Suspect Basque Involvement.

I Think Al Qaida Suspicions also may have come into Play, Quite Early too. And I Think the Aznar Government may well have said Such, too.

And I Think that Many to Most Mainstream Spanish Aren't exactly Too Thrilled or Pleased with their Basque Minority. Rightly andor Wrongly. Fairly or Unfairly. But Given their Long Years of Real Terrorism, Very Understandably as well. I Find it Rather Hard to Believe, that Much of the General Spanish Population, -Would Start Rallying to the Basque Side!, so to speak. In Fact, Many of They, would be the First to Point a Suspecting Finger of Blame, upon the Basques! This Well may have Happened.

Had People Automatically just Jumped to an Al Qaida Conclusion!, -I can Hear it Now! -"Don't be so Rash!",-"Basque and ETA Terrorism is Only so Well Known!, -Why are you Automatically Jumping to an Al Qaida Conclusion?!"

And I've Heard that in the Days just Prior to the Madrid Attacks, -Polls Showed Aznar Sitting on a Comfortable Lead! It's Not like a Spanish Majority was Prior Displeased with him, Enough to Want to Boot him Out! (With the Great Spanish Populace's Anti Iraqi War Involvement, of Views, Notwithstanding.)

Sure, the Al Qaida Attack could Bring in the "ETA Lie Angle", as you Speak of. An Angle which Didn't Exist Before. It could also Bring in, the Larger, More Pure Emotional Angles of which I'll be speaking of. And it Has! Whether or Not it may also have Brought your "ETA Angles", into Play as well.

With Either or Both, -It was Enough to Tilt the Balance!, and Put Aznar and Co. Out!

I myself Believe that Al Qaida and Co., -Intentionally Tipped and Tilted that Balance!

Spain Unwisely and Emotionally Played Into their Hands!!!

True, it's Possible that some may have Yielded to Taking Advantage of the Oppurtunity, -to Try to Pin a Blame on ETA. Irregardless of any Actual Truism or Non-Truism of such there. And to Hopefully "Make it Stick"! These Things sometimes Do Happen in the World of People and Public Affairs. Such an Attempt May or May Not have Happened, on the Part of Some.

Azner or Not?, -I Honestly Don't Know. But I Don't Think so. I Do Think that he is Better than that!

Given What Spain as a Nation had just Experienced, I Think General Terrorism Concerns, -and the Connection that Much of it's Public Perceived with Spanish Iraqi / Coalition Involvement, and of the Staunch Aznar Support for Such, -I Think This Played a Far Larger Deciding Role!, in the Election Results. Than Suggestions or Suspicions concerning the Basques. Or of Aznar Having Actually or Supposedly Lied About it! I Think there may well Not have been All that many Feelings relating to Real or Supposed "Aznar Lies" here.

Any Way that it Actually *Does* Come Down, to Have so Occurred with the Electorate, -It was Certainly an Emotional Decision! An Emotionally Influenced Decision!

At Times like These, and With Matters of These Sorts, -Emotional Decisions are something of a Double Edged Sword!

The Emotion is of course Very Understandable. And Events such as These, -Do Crystallize Things into a Focus!, that People Otherwise Wouldn't so Readily Come By! If Even at All!

But it's also just That!, an Emotional Decision, -Often a Purely Emotional Decision!, of the Moment! Fraught with All of Pure or High Emotionalism's Inaccuracies, Impressions, One Sidedness, Momentary Snap Judgements, and the Like!

Spain Made an Emotional Decision! Understandable as It Is! With All of These Double Edged Pros and Cons of Emotionally Decideing So, that I speak of!

Whether This was X Amount of a Belief by Many that "Aznar Lied" concerning the ETA, -Or Whether it was Purely / Far More over the Entire Experience that Spain had just Had, -It was an Emotional sort of Choice and Decision! At least Very Much and Heavily so!

Now in Addition to this, Or Perhaps as Part of This, -The Impression that you Report, that Aznar and Co., has either Actually or Apparently Lied about ETA Involvement? -This could Very Well Figure in too. But even if so, This Occurred against the Backdrop of a Very Understandable Emotional Decision, -and was also Such a Decision in Itself!

You of course are in Europe, and are Just Above the Iberian Area. You are Far Nearer to the Spanish Scene than I. I'm Sure that you've Heard from Many More On Scene Spanish Observers than have I. You've Reported What you've Generally Heard, in your Post.

But These as I have mentioned, are the Impressions as I Get.

Whether the Spanish Decision was Actually or Apparently "Aznar Lie Sourced" or Not,-

It was Still an at Least Highly Emotionally Entered Into Decision!

And it was Still the Exact Wrong Thing!, for Spain and the Spanish to be Doing! -Vis a Vis Their's and Today's Terrorism Threat and Challenge!

Again, We Should Make the Appropriate and Accurate Observations and Assessments, -and Be Preparedness Ready! For Whatever may Reasonably Enough someday Come Down such a "Terrorist Pike"!
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