From Der Spiegel, “Officials Warn of Possible Attacks”:
Germany faced an elevated threat of terrorism on Friday because of its involvement in Afghanistan, according to officials who say the risk of an attack here is as high as it has ever been since September 11, 2001. “We are alarmed,” the normally mild-mannered August Hanning, Deputy Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, told reporters on Thursday evening.
Hanning said the level of so-called “chatter” from intelligence sources reminded him of the weeks just before September 11. German as well as foreign intelligence agencies have received hints about plans, groups, and individual extremists who may be planning an attack in Germany.
“We have moved fully into the target range of Islamist terror,” said Hanning, who used to lead Germany’s intelligence service, the BND.
One source of concern for the government is a video that surfaced on the Afghan-Pakistani border on June 9. The video — which has since been broadcast on ABC News in the United States — shows the brother of a recently killed Taliban commander, Mullah Dadullah, in front of a group of his hooded followers, who crouch on the ground. What bothers German authorities about this clip is that four groups of these men — supposedly suicide bombers — leave Mansour Dadullah’s presence to mount attacks in four separate countries: Germany, Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. The supposed reason is revenge for the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.
[…]
On June 10, in fact, two Germans and one Kirghiz man were arrested along the Afghan-Pakistani border on terrorism charges. Pakistani officials say they were outfitted with satellite phones and radio devices and were either on their way to or from a training camp. A German TV broadcaster, N24, reported that they were planning suicide attacks in Germany.
Border security measures have been tightened as a result of the new intelligence, according to German officials.
There has been plenty of speculation about the video — many believe it to be pure propaganda, nothing more — but the very idea of terrorism is to terrorize, and in this case, the threat may just be the thing.
How Germany reacts to the threat politically — will the scapegoating, after a “root causes” analysis, lead back to the US? — is something to keep an eye on, even should this latest scare (let’s hope) prove to be nothing more than a way for Islamic terrorists to probe the Germans for weakness, or to gauge their willingness to sustain a longterm involvement in a broader global war on radical Islamism.
If there IS a terrorist attack on Germany, the world will be united until the US squanders the goodwill by, you know, suggesting some kind of response.
Best line:
“‘We are alarmed,’ the normally mild-mannered August Hanning, Deputy Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, told reporters on Thursday evening.”
Because although I, too, am normally mild-mannered, I must confess that when I wig out and totally lose my shit, I laconically state that “I am alarmed.”
So really, who can blame him?
suggesting some kind of response.
Unless, of course, the suggested response happens to be a Halal gift basket.
I dont’ know where they get the idea that terrorists might strike in or out of Germany. Hmm, Munich 1972, Frankfurt 1988 (Pam Am 103)Hamburg 2000
(September 11th)
I think if they get struck, they’d best have a sit and think about what they might have done to bring it on. Y’know, offending the more radical Muslims by not killing *all* the Jews, only partially basing their political campaigns on Bush Bashing, the copious gorging on beer and pork products during community festivals, or perhaps showing insufficient respect to Allah or Muhammad, who is his prophet (PBUH).
Of course it’s also possible that they will have imagined some attack, because we all know that the terrorist threat is just a fabrication of the Bushitler Regime…
This is probably just another “neocon” plot, right? sarcasm off…
Germany’s alliance with the USA is a limited source of this terrorism threat, yet is also the only effective response to the terrorism threat. To allow yourself to be frightened into abandoning your friends when they are under attack is to invite the attack on yourself when your friends are gone and your enemy is that much stronger.
In other words ‘divide and conquer’.
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