In a September 27 editorial titled "Australia's Iraq War," (WSJ.com subscription required) The Wall Street Journal editorial board implied that Spain hadn't “experienced terror firsthand” before the March 3, 2004, train bombing in Madrid.

From the September 27 edition of The Wall Street Journal:

Unlike in Spain, where the terrorist attack days before the elections caused chaos and a surge for the opposition, Australians have already experienced terror firsthand -- in Bali in 2002 where many Australian tourists were victims, and against their embassy in Jakarta earlier this month.

In fact, Spaniards have “experienced terror firsthand” over a period of several decades: The Basque separatist organization Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) has carried out numerous terrorist bombings and assassinations in Spain. According to Spain's Ministry of the Interior, ETA is responsible for the deaths of 817 people since 1968; 46 of those were killed after a 14-month cease-fire expired on December 3, 1999.

Following are some of the terrorist attacks for which ETA was responsible: six people killed by a simultaneous bombing of Madrid's airport and train stations (1979); 21 people killed by a car bomb explosion at a Barcelona supermarket (1987); ten people, including four children, killed by a car bomb explosion near a school in Barcelona (1991); and seven people killed by a car bomb explosion in Madrid (1993).