So why did some of these guys get off?

WAS THE MARCH 11, 2004, attack on Madrid’s commuter trains an al Qaeda operation? More than three years after 191 civilians were killed and almost two thousand more injured by ten backpack bombs planted by Islamic radicals, the answer to such a simple question remains clouded. Just this past Wednesday, as the verdicts of 28 of the accused plotters were read by a Spanish court, we were reminded how murky this issue has become.

Few, if any, in the mainstream American press referred to the plotters as agents of al Qaeda. Instead, much of the coverage was similar to the Washington Post‘s description:

Spanish authorities said the plot was organized locally by a cell of Islamic ideologues that had no direct connections to al-Qaeda or other international networks. But they were unable to clarify who directed the conspiracy or gave the final orders for the attacks.

Read the rest here.