Spains Originality Syndrome
In April this year Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned the Western world that the Madrid and London attacks of a decade ago and the recent Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris were just the tip of the iceberg», referring to the Islamist terror campaign in Europe.
In April this year Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned the Western world that the Madrid and London attacks of a decade ago and the recent Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris were just the tip of the iceberg», referring to the Islamist terror campaign in Europe.
In April this year Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned the Western world that the Madrid and London attacks of a decade ago and the recent “Charlie Hebdo” shootings in Paris were just the “tip of the iceberg», referring to the Islamist terror campaign in Europe. According to the controversial leader –responsible for the civil war that caused the European refugee crisis– terrorism isn’t a regional problem that only affects the Middle East. It’s a global emergency.
Yes, but why are Syrians leaving their country? Well, it’s understandable. Since 2011 the Assad regime has besieged civilians with chemical weapons and barrel bombs; ISIS has murdered, tortured and crucified them, submitting Syrian women to sexual slavery among other horrid brutalities; and lesser jihadist fronts such as Jabhat al-Nusra have massacred civilians as well. As of today 250,000 people have been killed in a civil war that has displaced half the population and driven one out of every five Syrians (4 million people) to leave the country.
Recently, in a series of anti-terror operations across the country, Spanish police arrested 11 persons in Catalonia who were setting up an offensive in the region. In February 2015 Spain’s two major political parties signed an agreement to counter Islamic extremism with updated anti-jihadist laws, reacting against the Paris attack on the French satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo”.
And two years ago Spain had officially announced the delivery of “defense material” to Syrian rebels battling Assad’s forces, so it’s now hard to fathom why Foreign Minister José Manuel Margallo has announced that “it’s time to negotiate with the enemy” –implying the Syrian president–, especially when the United Kingdom and France have vowed to subdue Assad. Perhaps Mr. Margallo is affected by an originality syndrome that makes him act so, let’s say… quixotically.
