ETA

I don't usually comment on "hard" news stories but the bomb blast at Madrid airport seems such a shame. Not just for the, currently reported, two missing, four injuries and material damage but because it has put paid to talks to stop more killing.

The Socialist Government here has been treading the difficult path followed by recent UK Governments with the IRA. Over the last nine months, since ETA announced a truce, there has been a lot of toing and froing about how and whether the Government should open talks with a terrorist group that has not formally renounced either violence or its armed struggle. The conservative opposition are very firm in saying "no", public feeling seems to be a bit anti any talking too but, in my opinion, the Government has been doing the right thing; they've used regional political parties, affiliated to them, to talk to the terrorists to try and establish some ground rules. Political dancing if you will but dancing is better than shooting, bombing and dying.

ETA, or presumably radical elements within it, had pushed the boundaries by stealing guns in France and fomenting some street violence a couple of weeks ago. The politicians footwork had to become even fancier.

But a car bomb at Barajas airport can't be danced around. Today has been a bad day for the good guys.