August 6, 2012 | Quote
Spain, a Platform as Vital as Difficult for Al Qaeda Post-Bin Laden
Spain is a strategic platform for Al Qaeda in Europe, but the progress police have changed the face of the organization in the country, which now fades support cells, according to U.S. government and experts consulted by Efe.
The arrest on Wednesday of three suspected members of Al Qaeda is a proof that the Spanish security forces able to limit the progress of an organization is still seeking its identity after the death last year of its founder, Osama bin Laden, according to the above sources.
Two days before the arrest, the U.S. State Department said in its report on terrorism in the world of active presence in Spain of “violent extremists affiliated with al Qaeda,” who is most notable in “support networks” for the organization .
“Fortunately, the Spanish security services are highly professional and have been able to act effectively against such threats,” Efe said one U.S. official, who requested anonymity.
For terrorism expert Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, making the operation of this week's significant is that it was “first” in which it has detained members of Al Qaeda bombing in Spain since the terrorist attacks of March 11 2004 in Madrid.
“Apparently, the plot came to the operational phase,” said the analyst, who works for the Institute for National Security Policy in Washington and has closely followed the operation, with the two Chechens and a Turkish attack allegedly sought in Spain or any other country in Europe.
According to the expert, the detainees could be part of a network coordinated by the arm of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which recently called for recruiting “operating to speak Spanish.”
These signals show that Spain “can not be forgotten in the concerns about the support networks of Al Qaeda to infiltrate Europe,” although the terror network has probably a more clear in Britain or France, he said Efe terrorism expert Juan Carlos Zarate.
“Given its location and its history of hosting extremists, there is a constant potential in Spain as a hub for Al Qaeda,” said Zarate, who was an adviser on terrorism, the then U.S. President George W. Bush and now works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The strategic location of Spain joined their Arab roots, and “attempt to recapture Al Andalus” as part of the rhetoric of Al Qaeda, who founded the theoretical basis of “the Muslim concept of the complaint, the war of the West against Islam, “said Zarate.
“Such rhetoric does listening to many people, and is easily manipulated into violence. That's what worries counterterrorism officials in Europe,” said the expert, who believes that in Spain “North African extremists can easily infiltrate and seek supporters between the diaspora of the region. “
Both Zarate as Gartenstein-Ross agree that Al Qaeda has found it increasingly difficult since the attacks of 11-M, but will also see a “persistence” of the terrorist network in the country, despite pressure and constant police scrutiny.
“After the death of bin Laden, the network operates through support cells. You have individuals who are committed to the general causes of Al Qaeda even if not directly linked to it. That's hard to face,” said Zarate.