U.S. intel hub to counter Islamism in Spain: cable

This is the kind of stuff you never get to hear when you have an oppressive Government.
Thanks to Wikileaks Now we all can hear about it.

I just wonder how the Muslims in Spain are taking the news?


(Reuters) - The U.S. Embassy in Madrid proposed setting up an intelligence hub in the northeastern region of Catalonia to counter a "major center of radical Islamist activity," according to a U.S. cable obtained by WikiLeaks and published Saturday by the newspaper El Pais.

The cable, dated October 2, 2007, said U.S. and Spanish authorities had identified Catalonia as having a "large Muslim Population Susceptible to Jihadist Recruitment" following increased surveillance after the 2004 Madrid train bombings, which killed 191 people.

"Specifically, we propose that our Consulate General in Barcelona become the platform for a multi-agency, jointly-coordinated counterterrorism, anti-crime, and intelligence center," said the cable, classified secret and apparently authored by then-Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre.

It was not immediately clear whether the center was set up in Barcelona. U.S. Embassy officials in Madrid were not immediately available for comment.