The war comes to Europe

Almost 200 killed by a ten bombs on four commuter trains in Madrid. For us in Britain it seems awfully close to home. There's a real feeling that is a matter of when rather than if we'll see scenes much like these, only instead of the red and white RENFE commuter trains, the mangled coaches will wear the liveries of Stagecoach, Silverlink or First Great Eastern.

Was it really the Basque terrorists ETA, who still seem to be the prime suspects? Or does the scale of the carnage and co-ordinated attacks indicate the real culprits are Al-Queda? Or is it the nightmare scenario; some form of cooperation between the two. Or, as Ken MacLoed says:

It makes a practical difference, yes, but ETA has become so nihilistic and pointless it might as well be part of Al-Qaeda already.

The viscereal reaction is to wish bloody revenge on the people that did this. ETA, if it is indeed them, must certainly must be destroyed; there's little evidence that they have any widespread support amongst the Basque people nowadays, it's been reported that there are probably only about 250 active members. What's frightening is that the Spanish government believed they'd got ETA on the run.

If it was Al Queda, that's even more frightening.