The Blame Game:

Just as the Bush administration hurried to blame Saddam Hussein after 9/11, the ruling Spanish party is rushing to blame the Basque seperatist groups ETA. As Reuters reports:

"The Spanish government told its ambassadors to spread the word that armed Basque separatist group ETA was to blame for the Madrid bombings within hours of the attacks, a leading newspaper has reported.

The report came amid increased grumbling from government critics on Saturday that Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's ruling party might be pointing the finger at ETA -- and minimising suspicions Muslim militants were involved -- for political reasons.

'You should use any opportunity to confirm ETA's responsibility for these brutal attacks, thus helping to dissipate any type of doubt that certain interested parties may want to promote,' El Pais quoted Foreign Minister Ana Palacio as writing in a memo."