That Liberal Media

So Spanish courts convict 75% of the defendants on trial in the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings and here's the headline from the New York Times:

7 Are Acquitted in Madrid Bombings

Lisa Abend of Time chimes in with the following:

The Spanish National Court issued its verdicts in the 2004 Madrid bombing case on Oct. 31. By U.S. standards, the verdicts seemed light--many sentences ranged from 12 to 15 years, and seven of the 28 suspects were absolved of all crimes, including alleged mastermind Rabei Osman. The ruling put to rest a long-festering accusation lodged by conservatives that the Basque separatist group ETA, not Islamic terrorists, was behind the attacks that killed 191 people and injured nearly 2,000 more. But it raised many questions about Spain's ability to prosecute terrorism cases now that Islamic terrorists are as much a threat as members of ETA.

There is nothing wrong with questioning some of the not guilty verdicts, and I would agree with some of the criticisms that Abend makes there and here.

But to say that the sentences were "light by U.S. standards" is idiotic. The Spaniard who stole the explosives used in the attacks received a sentence of 30,000 years, although the maximum anyonce can serve is 40 years.

Moreover, the critics - and especially Abend - seem to be unaware of the following figures:

Days elapsed since 9/11/01 attacks in the US: 2,246

Days elapsed since 3/11/04 attacks in Madrid: 1,333

Number of perpetrators convicted of direct involvement in Madrid attacks: 21

Number of perpetrators convicted of direct involvement in the 9/11/01 attacks: 0*

The numbers speak for themselves.

*That figure is as of the date of this post. Please note that Zacarias Moussaoui pleaded guilty to conspiring to hijack planes and involvement with Al Qaeda. 

Comments

[Akaky]

Number of perpetrators convicted of direct involvement in the 9/11/01 attacks: 0*

Randy, wouldnt that be a little hard to do, what with the perpetrators flying themselves into buildings and all? If you can figure out a way of trying them in open court, you've got my support.

[Randy Paul]

Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahari are accused of being directly involved and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed also is accused of being the mastermind of the plot. I wrote directly involved not the individual perpetrators on the planes. It's not unreasonable to think that others who weren't on the planes might be directly involved in the conspiracy.

Moreover, Akaky, several of the perpetrators were killed shortly after they were surrounded in Madrid. The fact is, no one has been convicted of involvement in the 9/11 attacks. No one.