Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | Jonathan Freedland: Spain got the point
The Spanish electorate were not voting for a cave-in to al-Qaida. On the contrary, many of those who opposed the war in Iraq did so precisely because they feared it would distract from the more urgent war against Islamist fanaticism. (Witness the US military resources pulled off the hunt for Bin Laden in Afghanistan and diverted to Baghdad.) Nor was it appeasement to suggest that the US-led invasion of an oil-rich, Muslim country would make al-Qaida’s recruitment mission that much easier.
So, yes, it is quite true that al-Qaida will be chillingly gratified by the Spanish result but, no, that does not mean that Spaniards voted for al-Qaida. Similarly, it is quite possible to be strongly opposed to the Iraq adventure and militantly in favour of the war against Bin Laden – indeed the two sentiments can be strongly linked. There is a difference, too, between appeasing men of violence and seeking to limit their appeal, just as the leaders of global terror must be separated from those who could become their followers. Islam is no monolith, nor is the west, and all the fine gradations within these categories matter enormously.
The world has never looked more like a complex knot, and it will take precision and patience to untangle it. Wrenching away at it in fury will only make the problem harder – and our lives more dangerous.