This is snipped from the preceding post in order to maintain the tone of the first.

If al-Qaeda did do it---still a possibility---then they've picked on the wrong people. If we assume that al-Qaeda is motivated by some sort of "anti-Crusader" mentality, then their action is somewhat rational but also kind of stupid.

What's rational? The Spanish are some of the last folks to have really given the Islamic/Moorish empire a bloody nose. Remember that as late as the 15th century, Spain was still possessed of a significant Islamic occupation presence. In fact, it would take until 1492 to complete the reconquista, the reconquest of Spain. For a brief capsule of that and the Alhambra of Granada, see here.

Ostensibly, the religious motivations for al-Qaeda would be avenging, (five hundred years later) the defeat of Islamic forces. At the same time, they haven't just tweaked the nose of the evil crusader country, they've hit a country that's got ruthless running through its history.

After all, it wasn't called the Spanish Inquisition for nothing. Pit and the pendulum, anyone? This is the country that coughed up Tomás de Torquemada. Given that this war against terror is one that is fought largely in the shadows, are you al-Qaeda men really sure you want your troops charging into that country? The land of Torquemada is also a country that has knitted into its cultural fabric the active enjoyment of a literal bloodsport, namely bullfighting.

I ask al-Qaeda again: Do you really want to mess with the guys who cleaned your clocks five hundred years ago, who produced a man whose name is synonymous with brutal torture, and who think a lot of ritualized slaughter? America's put a beating on al-Qaeda, but we've just got a penchant for porn and precision firepower.

Suppose al-Qaeda thinks it can take the Spanish in warfare and out-do them in brutality, slaughter, fire, whatever. That's nice, Osama. You've bagged about 200 people. Congratulations. The Spanish, on the other hand, pretty much laid waste to every indigenous population south of the Rio Grande and Florida, all for the greater glory of Spain, profit for the crown and self, and to save the souls of those Indians from the fires of Hell.¹ That, friends and neighbors, is destruction practiced as an art.

If given a choice between the all-stars of Islamic cruelty and the all-stars of Spanish conquistadors for the Brutality Bowl, I'll take Cortez & Company, thank you. These Spaniards'll tear you a couple of new orifices, right before they set fire to your flea-bitten hides, and all to the sights & sounds of flamenco performers. At this point for us, it's strictly business---for the Spaniards, it will be all personal.

Good luck and good hunting, Spain.

¹ And no, I'm not one of these indigenous-peoples whiners that considers Christopher Columbus the very devil of Hell. Besides, I'm more interested in what happened in 1607 at Jamestown.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 02:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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