Letter to CNN about mis-stating anti war sentiment in Spain ( pre-March bo

[OKNancy]

( My formatting, was better to them lol)

I am seeing many comments by news people, and not just CNN about how the terrorist bombing in Madrid changed the outcome of the Spanish elections. I believe that this is a gross mis-statement. The people of Spain were polled before the bombing and a full 90% were against the war.

Here is a quote from CNN:
especially Aznar's unwavering support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq,

despite opinion polls that showed up to 90 percent of Spaniards opposed

the war.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/01/09/spain.election/index.html

------
I think some of the news writers need to do some more research and not just go by the White House spin.
The Spainish people were going to kick out the pro- US fellow anyway. The bombings had nothing to do with it, or at the very least confirmed what they were already inclined to do.

Here is more for you to look at on the subject.
MADRID, Mar 28 (IPS) - More than nine of 10 Spaniards consulted in an

official poll said they oppose the U.S.-led attack against Iraq, while

their discontent with their own government -- which supports the war --

is seen in the rise of nationalist demands and criticisms against the

monarchy.

In late February, 90.8 percent of the people surveyed by the state-run

Centre for Sociological Research said they were against military

intervention in Iraq, announced the secretary of State for

parliamentary relations, Jorge Fernández, during the press conference

Thursday in which he presented the results of the poll.

The survey confirms what is seen in the ongoing and massive

demonstrations against the war in many Spanish cities, the largest

protests in the country’s history, say experts.

An appeal from the non-governmental ‘No to War’ Platform mobilised

people to send anti-war e-mails to the website of the ruling Popular

Party (PP), and within 48 hours they had paralysed the site, according

to the peace group.

The strong opposition to the policy of the centre-right government of

José María Aznar, of the PP, has encouraged demands for greater

autonomy by nationalist Basques and Catalonians, and to lesser extent

the nationalist movement of the Canary Islands, a Spanish territory off

the western African coast.
http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=17137


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2895489.stm

( one whole year before the Madrid bombing in 2004)

Spain's Centre for Sociological Investigations (CIS) has found that

anti-war feeling in the country is running at peak levels.
Its latest survey suggests that 91% of Spaniards are against the

military action taking place in Iraq.

Until now, most surveys have put the figure closer to 80%.

The publicly funded CIS works directly to the government of Prime

Minister Jose Maria Aznar and regularly tests opinion on social issues.


SPANISH MOOD
91% against military action
70% for Spanish neutrality
60% say government is doing bad job on Iraq
58% believe Iraq has weapons of mass destruction

But this is the first time its barometer of public opinion has asked

Spaniards a series of questions on Iraq.
Nearly 70% of the 2,500 people surveyed think Spain should be neutral

in the conflict.

Sixty percent ticked boxes indicating their government is doing a bad

job dealing with the crisis.

But 58% believe Iraq does have weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, an unusual display of anti-war sentiment - many hundreds of

people in Madrid spent one hour leaning out of their apartment windows,

banging together pots and pans.

Thousands continue to take to the streets across Spain to protest

against the war.

[Wright Patman]

1. Good find

Too bad CNN will ignore this. They have flushed this down their "Memory Hole" in spite of its continuing existence on the Net.

[OKNancy]

4. I know - that's why

I used their very own website as a source. The others were much more detailed of course. I looked on google and there were many reports of the huge anti-war demonstrations long before the bombing.

This kind of thing pisses me off to no end. They did the same thing on WMD...like Scott Ritter ( and Pitt) and Hans Blix never existed.
And they did it, and still do, to some extent on the "kicking out inspectors" in 1998.

It's just one big White House press release, regurgitated for mass consumption.

[tabasco]

2. Nothing but lies and insults of the Spanish people.

The Bush cabal is merely using its base's hatred of foreigners. In this case, they say "see, the cowardly Spanish people gave in to the terrorists and voted out Bush's brave ally in the war on terror!"

This tactic demonstrates the utter lack of ethics of the Bush cabal. They also have contempt for democracy. The people that run our government are doing their best to create a de facto plutocracy.

[itcfish1]

3. More Reason

The Spaniards wanted these Neo-cons out. They were screwing labor big time. 3 month work contracts, exploitation of workers, bringing in foreign laborers, bankrupting Social Security, changing the school system, controlling the media.

[OKNancy]

5. Yes, in my research I read that

but one has to keep it simple for the idiots in the newsroom.

[gandalf]

6. They would probably have reelected Aznar,

even though they strongly opposed the war. That was shown by polls shortly before the attacks.

BUT the reason to change their mind was NOT the terrorist attack, but Aznar's obvious efforts to exploit the attack in his favor and to hide and distort the facts. So it were not the terrorists who influenced the election, but Aznar himself. I think that is the common assumption here in Europe.

Interestingly, some days ago, I heard on CNN international that the attacks changed the outcome of the election...