Apuro en Paraíso

As many of you may know, accusations have recently come up that CIA planes transporting terrorist suspects have made stopovers on the island of Majorca off the coast of Spain (NY Times). Spain's Interior Minister José Antonio Alonso has been very outspoken that if these claims are true, they would not be tolerated. His outspokenness is seen as a sign of major strains in Spain-U.S. relations. Spain's Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been critical of the U.S.'s War on Terror and war in Iraq since he took office in April 2004.

In light of the terrorist attacks in Madrid in March 2004, shouldn't Spain have a looser opinion about dealing with terrorists and possibly be willing to help the U.S. in its efforts? Does this represent a possible shift by previously cooperative countries away from U.S. doctrine?

My take on the situation is that a country like Spain sees its ties with the U.S. more of a threat than terrorism. If Spain is willing to cut ties with the U.S. and criticize our tactics, it obviously views close ties with the U.S. as dangerous and bad for its image. Frankly, should we even care that Spain is mad at us for transporting terrorism suspects through its country? I'm beginning to think not. We can fight the war on terror with or without Spain and if stopping off in Majorca helps us out, then they can get over it.

Our esteemed professor has posted his opinion on this subject here.