FWD: ETA and Al Queida working together?

[KXX4493553 at aol.com]

http://www.ncmonline.com/content/ncm/2001/oct/1001spain.html

In Spain: ETA and Al-Qaeda Forge New Anti-EU Alliance
NCM Online, By Paolo Pontoniere, October 1, 2001

The Basque terrorist organization ETA and bin Laden's al-Qaeda cells have
joined forces. Their shared goal: to organize and carry out an attack on the
EU meeting scheduled for March 2002 in Barcelona, according to two Spanish
publications, Tiempo and El Mundo.

According to the reports, which have been confirmed by Italian and French
media, representatives of the two terrorist organizations have already met
together three times in Brussels in December 2000; in Malaga, Spain in
February 2001; and in Barcelona last July.

According to the European reports, the terrorists have planned a suicide
attack on the meeting that would entail the use of five car bombs provided
by ETA, and delivered by five al-Qaeda suicide drivers. European authorities
consider this news credible, and have disclosed that Mohammed Atta--one of
the terrorists responsible for the early September attack on the World Trade
Center--may have also attended the July meeting between ETA and al-Qaeda in
Barcelona.

In its report, Tiempo revealed that, thanks to a tip-off by US Navy
intelligence, Spanish authorities were able to prevent another al-Qaeda
attack last December. This one would have involved striking American
aircraft carriers with suicide vessels filled with the deadly explosive C-4.
The attack--like the assault on the USS Cole in a Yemeni port--was scheduled
to take place as the two aircraft carriers would have readied to moor at
NATO's Rota navy base near Cadiz. The suicide motor boats would have
departed from the nearby coast of Morocco, a country with a significant
Muslim population.

Spain, because of its proximity to Morocco and Algeria, has experienced a
significant influx of Muslim immigrants. According to authorities, there are
now about 500,000 Muslim immigrants living in Spain. Experts estimate that,
among these emigres, are about 100 al-Qaeda agents ready at any moment to
hit a Spanish or American target.

Since 1996, the Spanish police have formed a special unit dedicated to
investigating the activities of these terrorists. In addition, Spanish prime
minister José-Maria Azanar has pledged troops to any American-led coalition
to fight international terrorism. Azanar has also allowed the US to use NATO
navy bases in Rota and Moron to carry out air strikes against terrorist
targets.

Although enjoying broad-based support at home for his commitment to the US,
Azanar may find that his position could cause troubles for Spain abroad. In
fact, neighboring Morocco, separated from Spain by the narrow strait of
Gibraltar, is home to 4.5 million Islamic fundamentalists, who may become
angered at Spain's generous support of America.

Such a development could push young Moroccan king Mohammed VI into the fray,
forcing him to face Islamic fundamentalist terrorism, as in neighboring
Algeria. There, the government has been embroiled in a bloody and protracted
war with indigenous Islamic terrorists for years.

kwp

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