Colt, Joe Aguilar, you are presenting pieces of the puzzle, but not connecting dots. Understandable, because the implications are indeed, er, explosive.

Ok then.

• The 3/11 attacks were undertaken by the Islamist cell, many of whose members died in the subsequent shootout/apartment explosion. Some police work was shoddy, some evidence faked. Lots of loose ends.

• The 3/11 attacks were carried out by Parties Unknown, and PSOE-leaning elements in the police planted evidence bound to lead to local Islamists. Who, obligingly, Fought The Law when cornered. The investigators' misconduct could only have happened if they had foreknowledge of the bombings.

• 3/11 was the work of that Islamist cell, but PSOE-leaning investigators pointed the finger at ETA, knowing that further examination would point it back to the Islamists, in time to sink Aznar (PP) at the polls. Dicey timing, again requiring foreknowledge of the bombers' plans.

Or am I missing something here?

AMac,

The 3/11 attacks were carried out by Parties Unknown, and PSOE-leaning elements in the police planted evidence bound to lead to local Islamists. Who, obligingly, Fought The Law when cornered. The investigators' misconduct could only have happened if they had foreknowledge of the bombings.

This is the closest version of what probably happened (and we can't talk in absolutes just yet).

Colt, Joe Aguilar, you are presenting pieces of the puzzle, but not connecting dots.

Guilty - but the fact is that there is a lot of information to cover. Joe's summary falls just short of 4,000 words, and - for instance - skims over the shadiness of Fernando Huarte, and does not mention the discovery of 750kg of GOMA 2 Eco in the garage of a Spanish bomb squad cop. It seems wiser to explain just how many things are wrong with the case before postulating alternative scenarios.

Sorry guys, but I might buy into 1 or 3 of AMac's possibilities. 2 strikes me as pretty much implausible given Saif al-Adel authoring Iraq al-Jihad, the investigations into Mohammed al-Masri in Italy, the Hofstadt Group in Netherlands, the role of Abu Qatada in all of this, the al-Qaeda leadership having foreknowledge of the attacks and a whole lot of other stuff. I am also exceedingly wary of attributing simple incompetence on the part of the authorities to malice - that's one of the problems with formulating conspiracy theories because it becomes extremely tempting to see deliberate connections where there are none.

More on this later, but just wanted to note that.

I should have been clearer. I don't doubt a jihadist role in the attack. By 'parties unknown', I mean "al-Qaeda and parties unknown". This is what I was concurring with:

...and PSOE-leaning elements in the police planted evidence bound to lead to local Islamists. Who, obligingly, Fought The Law when cornered. The investigators' misconduct could only have happened if they had foreknowledge of the bombings.

I am also exceedingly wary of attributing simple incompetence on the part of the authorities to malice

I agree. I for one don't find the point that the police didn't investigate such-and-such a case or individual that compelling a point.

What is starting to emerge is a small group of individuals, connected to one another in various ways, from all sorts of backgrounds (arms dealers, a Soviet-trained DFLP terrorist working in the Spanish police, members of the bomb squad, the Dirty War crew of the 1980s, and Fernando Huarte) coming together with al-Qaeda.

Okay, that sounds a lot more like we're more on the same page then. I thought the thrust of allegation being made was that the al-Qaeda wasn't involved and that any and all evidence that they were was a Socialist cover-up. That was the main thrust of what had me seeing red.

I still suspect that Huarte was the middle-man in this. Only Kajali - the aforementioned ex-DFLP terrorist - had anything approaching the ties with terrorists, and even then, there's no evidence he was connected to three cell members and, through mutual jihadist acquaintances, to both El Egypico and El Tunisie.

Okay, this is clearer. The "Parties Unknown, though not Al Qaeda/Islamist" scenario struck (strikes) me as extremely unlikely, given the connections and evidence that Dan alludes to above, and posted about extensively in the attack's aftermath.

The implication that somebody managed the Spanish media so precisely that the election fell to Zapatero and the PSOE at Aznar's expense is also unlikely. Who has the confidence to figure what news item will appear exactly when, and what effect it will have on the electorate? The threshold for AQ/Islamist success in "sending Aznar a lesson" and "punishing Spain" would have been much lower, with Zapatero's win a hoped-for but not essential bonus.

The most troubling aspects of this series of posts remains:

3. That the Spanish security services are compromised by this devilish mix of arms dealers, a Soviet-trained DFLP terrorist, members of the bomb squad, the Dirty War crew of the 1980s, and Fernando Huarte.

2. That these elements may have conspired with AQ and homegrown Islamist terrorists in the bombing's aftermath.

1. That certain elements of the story (e.g. faked backpack bombs) appear to necessarily require foreknowledge of the bombings and complicity with the bombers' actions.

If I'm reading this right.

AMac,

That the Spanish security services are compromised by this devilish mix of arms dealers, a Soviet-trained DFLP terrorist, members of the bomb squad, the Dirty War crew of the 1980s, and Fernando Huarte.

Kajali - the ex-DFLP terrorist - is a member of the Spanish security services. More about him in Part 3, which I expect to post tomorrow (waiting for Joe A to approve my editing). But for now, the Civil Guard suspect him of setting the timers in the bombs used on 3/11.

Toro and Trashorras - the arms/drugs dealers - were not members of the Spanish security forces, but there is some quite justified speculation they had protection from members of the police. From Part 1.

This story worsens when witnesses affirmed that Trashorras was a protégé of National Police drug enforcement unit commander in the nearby city of Avilés, Manolón. And it goes pretty bad when the Civil Guard unit that took over the investigation of 3/11, a few days after the attacks, found the telephone number of the TEDAX unit in Madrid, in Toro’s sister (and Trashorras girlfriend) phone book, beside the name openly written of “Manzano”.

You are reading this right, besides the above quibbles.

The threshold for AQ/Islamist success in "sending Aznar a lesson" and "punishing Spain" would have been much lower, with Zapatero's win a hoped-for but not essential bonus.

Maybe. But from an anti-Aznar, anti-free-market, anti-U.S. point-of-view, framing the discussion as the government claiming it was ETA to avoid the Iraq accuasation, and the security services claiming it is A-Q would - and surely did - change some minds. And the Spanish left-wing press jumped on the chance. (No, I'm not accusing them of prior knowledge.)

because Sanchez-Manzano said that the explosives they contained were the same, and the mobile phone used as a timer in the bomb #13 had a SIM card sold in Zougam’s, a Moroccan, store.

Whoa. I thought the mobile phones with the SIM cards came from Mausilli Kalaji's shop. Do I have that wrong?

Do you have any information on Huarte Spain International? Was this company invovled in the UN Oil For Food program in any way?

I thought the mobile phones with the SIM cards came from Mausilli Kalaji's shop. Do I have that wrong?

The ones for the other 12 bombs did, yes. The phone in #13 was from Zougam's.

Do you have any information on Huarte Spain International?

Only this.

According to Madrid's El Mundo on March 28, Huarte and his wife were also the owners of a small company called Huarte Spain International, specialized in providing trading services from Spain to countries like Lybia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Algeria and Pakistan.

The company had hardly any officially declared turnover (15,000 euros in 2003 approx). It's located in a small nondescript building in Gijón (Asturias). When the El Mundo reporter visited the site, he found only two Peruvian employees scared to death. Now get this: they say Huarte or anyone else had not been in the office for a year and a half. All computers were removed from there right before the Iraq war started.

I'm afraid guys, this part two is already old.

The testimony of Sanchez-Manzano's boss has been published today. In it, it was mentioned the X-rays performed to the bomb #13, and that he was the source from where the news about them came to Judge Del Olmo.

He also declared that:

"It was clear that it wasn't Titadine [French dynamite used by ETA] but some military high explosive, such as C3 or C4, because the dynamite-like explosives bite, that is, they don't perform a clean cut on metals" On 3/11, the damage in the trains was composed by round and clean holes.

He also said to the Judge that he ordered to check the trains twice, from head to end, in search for unexploded devices. He also remarked that he was in charge of the coordination among the units in all four sites, but not the commander of anyone.

Well, let's start it all over again.

I'll post more ASAP.

Rory (#11)

The mobile phones and the SIM cards that appeared in the bomb #13 followed different paths. The SIM card was sold in Zougam's store and many others from the same batch were used by the official suspects.

The mobile phones were in Kalaji's store to be unlocked, that is, changed its software so they can use any SIM card, leaving aside the originals.

It is interesting the fact that the alarm of many (if not all) Siemens mobile phones can operate without a SIM card inserted (try it!) Why didn't they use such a device?

The Indians that sold the mobile phones lately unlocked in Kalaji's store, declared that the buyers were Europeans that spoke perfect Spanish. They identified themselves as Bulgarians.

Colt published something (that I vehemently dismissed then) about the comments of a Bosnian Police commander, who later retracted. Maybe both were closer to the truth than I was, who knows...

AMac (#8)

The implication that somebody managed the Spanish media so precisely that the election fell to Zapatero and the PSOE at Aznar's expense is also unlikely. Who has the confidence to figure what news item will appear exactly when

I tell you who, Jesus Polanco, the owner of the PRISA media group, the biggest Spanish mass media group and film and music distributor. He also holds stakes in important international corporations and has signed agreements with others, such the CNN (have you seen anything about the mysteries of 3/11 in CNN?). William Hearst compared to him was just a trainee.

For instance: the most important PRISA radio channel, SER, broadcasted in the evening of 3/11 that suicide bombers had been found in the trains, which is not only false and but a capital evidence against Al Qaeda or even Islamist participation. Extremists are eager to die in a major attack, they are, above everything, vain. They want to feel powerful at least for a moment, they want to film videos and become famous, and then enjoy the next life.

Sadly, the context is lost here. Radio channels are widely listen in Spain at that time by non-office workers. It was clear the kind of people the PRISOE was trying to influence. I'm afraid the answer is yes, AMac, there is someone that can manipulate the entire fourth power in Spain and his name is Polanco.

and what effect it will have on the electorate?

I tell you who, a Spanish high rank politician. That is the key, AMac, 3/11 is a political coup and could only be conceived by a person well aware of Spanish politics and the Spanish people. Thus Aznar affirmation before the Commission of Investigation that hurt so much some people: "you don't have to search in remote deserts for the mastermind of 3/11".

Come on, 3/11 was indeed the finest manipulation work I've ever known about. Goebbles' lies were pathetic compared to this.

Dan (#3)

Unlike 9/11, 3/11 wasn't a surprise. There were rumours well before that date that there was to be a major terrorist attack in Spain before the March 14th elections. Anyone could talk about it previously and then said that was involved.

Colt published something (that I vehemently dismissed then) about the comments of a Bosnian Police commander, who later retracted. Maybe both were closer to the truth than I was, who knows...

The police chief retracted his comments.

Joe A #14:

the most important PRISA radio channel, SER, broadcast on the evening of 3/11 that suicide bombers had been found in the trains. [This was] not only false, [but strong] evidence against Al Qaeda or even Islamist participation. Extremists are eager to die in a major attack, they are, above everything, vain. They want to feel powerful at least for a moment, they want to film videos and become famous, and then enjoy the next life. Sadly, the context is lost here. Radio channels are widely listened to in Spain at that [hour] by non-office workers.

Sorry, I lost the thread of this charge. Is it that SER incorrectly reported on the evening of 3/11 that the plot had been carried out by suicide bombers?

How would that be strong evidence against AQ or other jihadis being responsible? How would that point in the direction of ETA?

Thanks.

Is it that SER incorrectly reported on the evening of 3/11 that the plot had been carried out by suicide bombers?

Yes, it is, AMac. The audio files that contained what was broadcasted during those hours were erased from the SER website, but an internet surfer luckily downloaded them before it happened, and published them back.

You can find them here in an anti-Socialist web site and also in some P2P networks searching with keywords SER 11 M.

The mass media manipulation and the call for spontaneous demonstrations before the Popular party offices demanding the truth is well documented, that is no mystery. I personally don't believe that the people that carried it out is directly linked with the plot. There was a delay before they reacted. What happened before and how this was made profitable after the attacks are different things, though the person that concieved them knew what was going to happen, was supplying the arguments, let's say.

For people that can speak Spanish, please check Luis del Pino summary in Libertad Digital.

#13

Joe, the new testimony was not Sanchez Manzano's boss, but his subordinate; Madrid region TEDAX chief (Sanchez-Manzano is the national level chief).

So the testinony is still consistent with Sanchez-Manzano covering up and manoeuvering the judge.

Oops, sorry, I just saw you clear it up in comments in part 3.