3/11 attacks - no ties to anyone

We're approaching the 2nd anniversary of Spain's 9/11- the so-called 3/11 attacks in Madrid. Spanish investigators are finalizing a report on the attack, and today a few of them popped up anonymously to inform the media there were no connections to Bin Laden/al Qaeda.

The intelligence chief said there were no phone calls between the Madrid bombers and al-Qaida and no money transfers. The Western official said the plotters had links to other Islamic radicals in Western Europe, but the plan was hatched and organized in Spain. "This was not an al-Qaida operation," he said. "It was homegrown."

The New Yorker seemed to hint at this back in 2004. It's a little curious that a "western official" (whatever that means) was involved in this leak.

While the plotters of the Madrid attack were likely motivated by bin Laden's October 2003 call for attacks on European countries that supported the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, there is no evidence they were in contact with the al-Qaida leader's inner circle, the intelligence official said.

I get the feeling their classification of AQ is pretty narrow here, reminiscent of the infamous definition of the word is. For example, does this mean there were no contacts with AQ in Iraq, ie, al-Zarqawi? Exactly who comprises AQ's inner circle these days?

most of the plotters were Moroccan and Syrian immigrants, many with criminal records in Spain for drug trafficking and other crimes. They paid for explosives used in the attack with hashish.

This certainly doesn't fit the profile of a religious fundamentalist, however it does fit the profile of the first WTC bomber and the 9/11 mastermind, both of whom hung out at cathouses while in east Asia. It also fits the profile of Zarqawi, who was once called a 'street thug' by the King of Jordan. It also fits the profile of some of the 19 hijackers in America who were known to frequent bars. Perhaps just cover, perhaps not.

And agents specializing in Islamic terrorism have arrested dozens of suspects, all allegedly working to recruit potential suicide bombers for the Iraq insurgency. At least two Spanish citizens, including March 11 suspect Mohammed Afalah, are believed to have blown themselves up in Iraq, and an investigation by the respected El Pais daily revealed some 80 others have traveled to the country in recent months intending to do the same.

An AQ organizer was recently arrested for tring to help jihadis make their pilgramige of death to Iraq, but for some reason they didn't identify his contacts within Syria or Iraq. Wonder who they were? Let's remember the bulk of the young mujahadeen were entering through Ba'athist Syria and being led primarily into Sunni areas of Iraq. Let's also remember that Tariq Aziz invited them to come fight for Arabia at the beginning of the war.

He said authorities believe the Madrid bombers learned how to construct the bombs _ all connected to Mitsubishi Trium T110 mobile phones _ from Internet sites linked to radical Islamic groups. The devices were similar to ones used in the 2002 Bali bombing, he said, evidence that militants in both countries got information on the same radical Web sites.

KSM was also implicated in the Bali attacks, yet they'd have us believe these guys got their bomb experience off the net. Downloading is one thing, building is another. Even master bombmaker Ramzi Yousef almost blew himself to Allah making a bomb, so its hard to believe they'd entrust the operation to ameteurs. Madrid was an important attack, strategically timed to disrupt an election with the end goal being the removal of Spanish troops from Iraq.

Prudence would suggest waiting for the final report before making further speculations, but if these leaks are any indication of the report to follow, it sounds like we're not gonna learn anything new. Just more rootless, non-state actors at work.