Iraq War Anniversary and the Madrid Bombings

Broacast: March 20, 2004

This is Steve Ember with In the News, in VOA Special English.

President Bush said Friday that every government has a duty to
fight and destroy terrorism. He said any sign of weakness only
invites more violence for all nations. Mister Bush made the comments
as he observed the first anniversary of the American-led invasion of
Iraq. Diplomats from more than eighty nations gathered at the White
House to hear his speech.

Mister Bush also said differences over Iraq belong to what he
called, the past. He said the ouster of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
has removed a cause of violence and aggression in the Middle East.

Also Friday, justice and interior ministers from European Union
countries agreed at talks in Belgium to do more to fight terrorism.
On March eleventh, bombs exploded on four trains in Madrid. More
than two-hundred people were killed. More than one-thousand others
were injured.

Many people in Spain blamed the government of Prime Minister Jose
Maria Aznar for the bombings. Mister Aznar has been a strong ally of
President Bush and the war in Iraq. The Spanish government provided
more than one-thousand troops for the American-led coalition.
Ninety-percent of Spaniards opposed the war.

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will be the next Prime Minister of
Spain. Mister Zapatero says support for the war made his country a
target for terrorist attacks. He has said he plans to withdraw
Spanish troops from Iraq unless they are placed under United Nations
command by the end of June.

The People's Party of Mister Aznar lost power in general
elections in Spain last Sunday, three days after the bombings. The
opposition Socialist party of Mister Zapatero defeated the ruling
conservatives. Before the attacks, the People's Party was widely
expected to win the election.

The Spanish government says it had reason to blame the Basque
separatist group ETA for the bombings. Police now say they believe
Islamic militants linked to the al-Qaida group carried out the
attacks. Some Spaniards say the government attempted to hide what it
knew about links to Islamic extremists.

The government said Thursday that it would release intelligence
documents linked to the attacks. Officials said they want to prove
they did not try to trick the public.

On Friday, a judge in Madrid ordered five suspects in the
bombings to remain in jail while an investigation continues. The
three Moroccan and two Indian suspects deny any links to the
attacks. Police also have been holding other people, including a man
with Spanish citizenship. Some suspects are believed to have links
to bombings in Morocco last year. Those attacks killed thirty-three
people and the twelve bombers.

There have been reported claims of responsibility for the Madrid
attacks by al-Qaida members or others acting in its name. American
officials say they fear that the apparent influence on the Spanish
elections will only strengthen Islamic terrorist groups.

In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk.
This is Steve Ember.