Make of this what you will, and everybody will, but El País reports today that the recently-elected José Luis Zapatero is planning to send 125 troops to Afghanistan, objective Al Qaeda, if the UN hasn't taken control of Iraq by June 30 and he fulfils his much-questioned promise to withdraw the Spanish troops. Such action would come with the backing of the UN, and is intended to show the PSOE's commitment to combatting terrorism.

Update: ... and if it's true, it may of course be the result of a behind-the-scenes deal struck with the U.S. to counterbalance the threatened removal of troops from Iraq. Just an interesting thought, suggested by my ex-student Victor.

For better or worse, the "blogosphere" (ugh) has been humming with matters Spanish recently, and FYI I've just come across a couple of lively links: A Fistful of Euros and Living in Europe.net.
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