More on Spain’s 3/11 investigation:
Frank J. Gaffney Jr. explains,

On May 16, the Madrid daily El Mundo published a remarkable editorial that draws upon the paper’s ongoing investigation and contains information potentially as explosive as the 3/11 attacks themselves: El Mundo suggests that, almost immediately after the 12 bombs went off in one of the city’s busiest train stations, some in the Spanish police force fabricated evidence, then swiftly hyped it to the domestic and international press. The object seems to have been to support the oppositions’ claims that Islamists angry over the government’s support for the war in Iraq were responsible for the attacks.

At worst, the information uncovered by El Mundo could mean that the deadly bombing was actually perpetrated with the complicity of the same Spanish police bomb squad, Tedax, that was subsequently charged with investigating the crime.

Either way, if the leads published in recent days pan out, it would appear that Spain’s 2004 elections were stolen by terrorists, alright. But the terrorist operation that brought the socialists to power may have been an inside job — in effect, a coup perpetrated by some of the same authorities who are responsible for preventing terror. Explosive stuff, if true. But all preliminary and speculative right now.

It certainly lends itself to speculation: Barcepundit is posting on the article published by El Mundo on Sunday (available here), which has further details from those on the Libertad Digital article I translated yesterday. El Mundo’s article, written by Antonio Rubio, states (my translation. Again, please, credit me if you quote from this):

Maussili Kalaji, who up to that point hadn’t been in the public eye, is a character out of a novel and one of the most knowledgeable members of the national Security Forces on Islamic terrorism, both on the national and European levels. Kalahi knows most of the members of the terrorist cells that operated and still operate in Spain since he met some of them at a Palestinian resistance training camp.
. . .
He throroughly knows Spain’s Syrian community, and even all the Islamists that directly, or indirectly took part both on 9/11 and 3/11.

Kaliji’s a friend of Imaz Edin Barakat Yarkas, a.k.a Abu Dahdah, who’s presently on trial for his alleged participation in the New York and Washington attacks. He also knew who was Sherhane Ben Fakhet, a.k.a. The Tunisian [see yesterday’s post], and what Fakhet was up to. But the most important thing is that Maussili Kalaji has placed informants in the Islamist cells operating in Spain. According to people who know the Spanish policeman, all of that detailed and sensitive information was available to his police superiors before, during and after the Madrid massacre.

El Mundo explains how the police found out that one of their own was the owner of the store where the cell phones were programmed:

From the data obtained in the van, plus the data from the unexploded knapsack bomb, the cell phones that Jamal Ahmidam’s people bought at Bazar Top (the Indian store), and the following “release” [by which the cell phones were able to be operated from any source including calling cards] of those phones, Kalaji’s coworkers at the General Information office came to his store, Tecnología de Sistemas Telefónicos Ayman.

From that very moment, Maussili Kalaji began to fully cooperate with his ex-coworkers at the Information Office, and thanks to him, and to his having written down the IMEI identification numbers of the Bazar Top cell numbers he had been asked to “release” (i.e., program so they phones would allow calling cards from any company and in any modality, prepayment, or contract), the investigators were able to find the Leganés apartment where the terrorist leader of the 3/11 trains of death had taken shelter.
. . .
He was in charge of the Syrian Monzer Al-Kassar
Maussili Kalaji thoroughly knows the Syrian community in Spain, and additionally, was the Spanish agent in charge of listening to and translating all of the telephone conversations of Monzer Al-Kassar, allegad weapons trafficker that was charged by judge Baltasar Garzón for collaborating in the Achille Lauro hijacking.

The ship’s hijacking took place in 1985, and in 1992 judge Garzón charged Al-Kassar — Syrian resident of Marbella and representative of the Spanish government in some weapons sales to third countries – of allegedly belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (led by Abu Abbas [see link]), of murder, of belonging to an armed gang and terrorist organization, of attempted murder, illegal detention, and piracy.

Kalaji, as member of the Office of Information and by order of the judge, kept close watch on Al-Kassar and his family; but eventually the Syrian friend of former Cesid director Alonso Manglano and ex-Secretary of the Interior Rafael Vera, was absolved of all charges of which judge Garzón had accused him.

Kalaji’s Palestinian connections are strong and remain strong. El Mundo describes him as “Kalaji, who considers himself a defender of the Palestinian cause”. My question is, is it wise of the Spanish intelligence services to have placed in such sensitive jobs both Kalaji and members of his family?

In Spain today, Justice Minister López Aguilar: Still unclear who ordered March 11

Justice minister Juan Fernando López Aguilar is not sure who ordered the March 11, 2004, bombings in Madrid. Lopez Aguilar told Newsweek, “It is a fact that the people who planned and carried out the massacre were in Spain, had lived in Spain for years, and were apparently not part of a well-structured chain of command.” “It is still not clear,” said Lopez Aguilar, who ordered the bombings which killed 191 people. Lopez Aguilar’s statements conflicted with the firmness with which prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero had spoken until now.

As for the preliminary portion of Gaffney’s statement, on May 6 The commission investigating the March 11, 2004 bombings in Madrid officially declared the end of the phase of gathering testimony and the beginning of the phase in which conclusions are to be reached