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Europe
Assassination of German president foiled
2004-03-24
Via Lucianne:
German President Johannes Rau has cancelled a planned visit to Djibouti after German security services warned him of an assassination plot, his office says. The statement said the security services had received information that an Islamist group planned to kill him during a visit to the Horn of Africa state to meet German troops stationed there. The decision to cancel the visit comes amid heightened security fears following the recent train bombings in Madrid by a group suspected to be linked to al Qaeda. "In the judgement of the services responsible, there was a considerable and concrete personal risk to the President," the president’s office said.
What was Fisk saying yesterday about not bumping off heads of state and leaders of movements?
But Djibouti’s Communications Minister Rifki Abdoulkader Bamakhrama told Reuters he was not aware of any plot against Rau, who had also been due to meet his Djibouti counterpart. "There is no plot against any president from any country... There is no risk signalled by our security service," he said, insisting that his country was stable.
So's Spain, isn't it?
"I have just heard that the president’s trip was cancelled. The Germans are afraid of an attack and of course are free to decide whatever they want." Although it opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq, Germany has cracked down hard on militant Islamists since it emerged that several of the plotters behind the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States had lived in the country as students. German navy personnel are serving in Djibouti as part of the U.S.-led "Enduring Freedom" operation against al Qaeda militants. Dozens of suspected militants have been arrested in the Horn of Africa over the past 15 months. Rau, who has held the largely ceremonial office of German head of state since 1999, steps down this year and is expected to be succeeded by the head of the International Monetary Fund, Horst Koehler.
Posted by:Anonymous2U

#10  Wait one. Why would the jihadis want to kill the President of Germany? I thought Germany was on their side.

Yes, Schroeder opposed the US's plan for forcibly removing Saddam Hussein. It probably had everything to do with German national (mercantile) interest. But that wouldn't help.

The radical islamist views the world as "Islamic" (that is "Us") or non-Islamic Satan ("Not Us"). I suppose they are like an amoeba or other low lifeform that sees the world as "food" or "a not-food".

Schroeder is still in the "Not Us" camp no matter what his sympathies may be. All the nuance in the world couldn't possibly help someone who the Islamist sees as a "Not Us".
Posted by: eLarson   2004-03-24 5:29:33 PM  

#9  Yea so now i see the light - it's all Bush's fault..

TGA - How is this playing out in German media? A wake up call or is it being brushed off?
Posted by: Dan   2004-03-24 12:45:55 PM  

#8  Will Europe get it? The Islamists are not going to leave your country alone simply because you try to "counterbalance" the U.S. and refuse to cooperate with the U.S. These nuts don't do compromise. You go along with the program all-the-way, i.e., women covered, no alcohol, etc., etc., or you are Allan's enemy, and you are worthy of death. So, Germany, are you going to see the light, and line up against islamist fascism, or are you going to continue to delude yourselves into thinking that you can avoid the wrath of the terrorists by sitting on the fence rather than actively joining the fight on the U.S.' side? I think it is going to take some time before Germany/France/Belgium, et al. learn that there is no long-term peace with religiously crazed zealots who demand Taliban-like rule: unless of course you are willing to adopt Taliban-like rule.
Posted by: sludj   2004-3-24 11:31:41 AM  

#7  The President's post in Germany is mostly symbolic anyway.But,you know,it's the headlines if they succeed,so there.
Posted by: El Id   2004-3-24 9:17:31 AM  

#6  Agree - they just like to blow up stuff and kill people. The more newsworthy the target the better. This is just about hate, like the KKK on steroids. They claim to want to be rid of Jews or blacks, but in the end, it's just about hate.
Posted by: B   2004-3-24 7:59:41 AM  

#5  they can say that Germany didn't allow enough mosque building permits or that they felt humiliated by the requirements of German foreign aid which has a brochure on human rights or that Germany allowed publication of a Rushdie novel or that Germany has given funds to Israel or that Germany didn't do enough to stop the US invasion of Iraq or...
Posted by: mhw   2004-3-24 7:50:11 AM  

#4  Go read about the IRA. They had nearly thirty years to perfect terrorism. They also gravitated towards the softest and most newsworthy targets.
Posted by: phil_b   2004-3-24 6:47:22 AM  

#3  Jihad(TM) has been reduced to hitting what they can get away with, not what they'd like to strike at.
Posted by: Hiryu   2004-3-24 6:37:35 AM  

#2  I don't think the jihadis give a shit who they kill, as long as it generates fear. Why not knock off Shroeder? He's certainly a BIG fish and success would make them big fish, too - at least by their logic.

Whether or not this plot was real, nobody should want asshats to succeed against any Western leader. The fallout from a successful hit would be serious -- to stock markets, to future leader meetings, etc. I'm glad Shroeder's people were cautious.
Posted by: .com   2004-3-24 6:11:52 AM  

#1  Wait one. Why would the jihadis want to kill the President of Germany? I thought Germany was on their side.
Posted by: Ben   2004-3-24 5:08:44 AM  

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