It's the third anniversary of the March 11, 2004 bombings. Al Qaeda murdered almost 200 people in Madrid. Most of the media turned on the government. The opposition PSOE won the election held three days later. The new prime minister, Zapatero, pulled Spanish troops out of Iraq as soon as he took office. The message he sent was one of cowardice and appeasement. We made them mad by sending troops to Iraq, so we'll withdraw our troops, and then they won't be mad at us anymore. If only it were so easy.

The West is at war with Al Qaeda and Islamist terrorists, in New York, London, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Spain too, a war we did not start. Zapatero does not recognize this. He honestly believes that if the West does not meet the Islamists' demands, some of which he considers legitimate, then the consequent struggle is our fault. And, twenty years ago, he believed that if the West did not meet the Soviets' demands, some of which he considered more than legitimate, then the consequent struggle was our fault.

Fortunately, Zapatero has little international power or influence, except among the Another World Is Possible crowd. After he loses the next election, which he probably will despite the PP's incompetence, he will be no more than the answer to a trivia question. Twenty years from now, he will be remembered vaguely as a figure of appeasement, much like Neville Chamberlain.

Unless, of course, Zarqawi and Osama win the war and reconquer Al-Andalus. Not likely, I agree. However, Zap and the rest of those who want the US to lose have most certainly not considered the consequences.