SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION --Spanish army chief makes dark comments about Catalonia secession bid - The Washington Post
Spain's army chief has waded into the growing storm over Catalonia's secession bid from Madrid. Chief of the General Staff Jaime Domínguez Buj likened the current state of affairs in the country to Spain's losses more than a century ago during the Spanish-American War.
"When the metropolis is weak," Dominguez said, "the collapse happens."
By metropolis, he is using a term popular among academics for the center of political and colonial power in an empire. When the conflict with the U.S. ended in 1898, Spain had lost its hold over Cuba, the Philippines, and Guam, some of its last prized imperial possessions. The defeat was a traumatic blow to Spanish prestige.
Dominguez went on, insisting his army "is prepared to intervene at home or abroad, to go to Afghanistan or Valencia" to uphold the Spanish Constitution. Valencia is a city and region along Spain's Mediterranean coast, south of Catalonia.
Catalans
hold independence flags (Estelada) on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes
during celebrations of Catalonia National Day (Diada) in Barcelona,
Sept. 11, 2014, (QUIQUE GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images)
