'Madrid attacks worked exactly as planned.' So said a headline on Intelwire, a website devoted to terrorism-related news, following CNN's shock revelation on 16 March 2004 that it was in possession of an alleged al-Qaeda document outlining the reasoning behind the bombings in Madrid. CNN reported that the document, written before the killing of 190 people by rucksack bombs in Madrid on 11 March, described Spain as the 'weakest link' in the coalition in Iraq, and set out an explicit ploy to 'topple [Aznar's] pro-US government' through force.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/ONE404A.html

The 42-page document, written in Arabic, presents itself as advice and guidance for jihadists and recommends 'painful strikes' against the Spanish. It was first published on radical Islamist websites, some of which are allegedly used by al-Qaeda sympathisers and supporters, at the end of 2003. With post-Madrid hindsight, some of its paragraphs certainly make for ominous reading. One says: 'We think the Spanish government will not stand more than two blows, or three at the most, before it will be forced to withdraw [from Iraq] because of public pressure on it. If its forces remain after these blows, the victory of the Socialist Party will be almost guaranteed - and the withdrawal of Spanish forces will be on its campaign manifesto.' (1)

Unveiling the document to the world on 16 March CNN declared, 'That prediction came to fruition in [Spain's] elections', when Jose Maria Aznar's pro-war Popular Party was ousted three days after the attacks and the sceptical-about-war Socialists took office (2). CNN says the document proves that al-Qaeda 'planned to separate Spain from its allies by carrying out terror attacks' (3). Intelwire put it more plainly: 'The al-Qaeda document reveals that the terror group specifically targeted regime change in Spain, with an eye towards a Socialist Party victory and the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq.' (4)

'In hindsight, the document looks like a blueprint', said New Zealand's National Business Review (5). 'The document shows how al-Qaeda planned months ago to get rid of Spain's pro-US government, and force them to withdraw troops from Iraq', declared another report (6).

The truth is, we still don't know who bombed Madrid or why - and creating stories to make sense of the bombings is likely to create more problems.