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| Europe |
| ABCNews: U.S., Germans Fear Imminent Terror Attack |
| 2007-05-11 |
| HT: Drudge U.S. and German officials fear terrorists are in the advanced planning stages of an attack on U.S. military personnel or tourists in Germany. Law enforcement officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com that U.S. air marshals have been diverted to provide expanded protection of flights between Germany and the United States. "The information behind the threat is very real," a senior U.S. official told ABC News. German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble told reporters, "The danger level is high. We are part of the global threat by Islamist terrorism." Of particular concern, according to U.S. and German law enforcement officials, is Patch Barracks, the headquarters for U.S. European Command, near Stuttgart. Security at all U.S. military and diplomatic facilities has been increased in the last month following reports that suspected terrorists had conducted surveillance of the Patch Barracks facility. "The attack would be designed to create high numbers of casualties among both Germans and the U.S. military," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, a former White House counterterror official. The 9/11 hijackers planned their operation out of Hamburg, Germany, and the country continues to be known as a staging area for al Qaeda and groups affiliated with it. "There are 300 to 500 people who are suspected to be part of al Qaeda cells in Germany," said Col. Andrew Pratt (Ret.) of the George Marshall Center in Germany. "In a democratic state like Germany, you just can't go out and arbitrarily arrest people because they are under suspicion," Pratt said. German officials have called for enhanced police powers to keep suspected terror groups in check. Several radical Islamist groups have threatened violence unless Germany withdraws its troops from the NATO force in Afghanistan. A radical Islamist group in Iraq took a German woman and her adult son hostage in February, threatening to execute them if Germany did not pull its troops out of Afghanistan. The two are still being held. A spokesperson at Patch Barracks said they were not aware of any specific surveillance on the location, and they are not under any more specific surveillance than other U.S. facilities in Germany. "As a response to the U.S. Embassy Berlin's recent warden message, all U.S. military installations in Germany are urged to exercise increased viligance," they said in a statement to ABC News. |
| Posted by:Delphi2005 |
| #10 Once again, INFOWARS/PRISONPLANET > Dubya has ordered Fed agencies to begin [contingency] planning for SURPRISE, "DECAPITATING" ATTACKS agz the USG-NPE. Read - IMO, espec agz Himself as POTUS, White House, Admin., andor aligned. MUSLIM CAB DRIVER > "If Bush attacks Iran, HE'LL [Bush]BE DEAD IN TWO MINUTES". * OSAMASWORD [Middle East] Poster > are likely 000's of Islamists = Cells inside the USA just waiting for orders to strike. LIKE ANY OTHER ENEMY OF AMER, RADICAL ISLAM IS VERY CAPABLE OF ENGAGING IN POLITIX = PCORRECTNESS = PYWAR OPERATIONS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-05-11 21:32 |
| #9 Whoops! I thought I closed the italic code. Oh well, please pretend only the phrase "guilty until proven innocent" is italicized, 'k? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-11 20:27 |
| #8 Mr. Clarke is a principal at a security consulting/integration firm named Goodharbor. http://www.goodharbor.net |
| Posted by: remoteman 2007-05-11 16:55 |
| #7 "In a democratic state like Germany, you just can't go out and arbitrarily arrest people because they are under suspicion," Pratt said Under German law I think they can. If I recall correctly, it's a guilty until proven innocent assumption. And I think they have a period the police can hold people without charge, as well. Nonetheless, sei vorsichtig, ExJAG, and Mr. ExJAG too. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-11 16:24 |
| #6 Richard Clarke? No shit. Looks like he caught a good gig. I thought he'd become the night watchman at the Irrelevant Hall of Fame. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-05-11 15:12 |
| #5 I blame HitlerBushHalbertonBillGates There... that ought to cover everybody. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-05-11 15:05 |
| #4 "In a democratic state like Germany, you just can't go out and arbitrarily arrest people because they are under suspicion," Pratt said What the hell, they're only Americans. No need to push the panic button. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-05-11 15:01 |
| #3 Diverting U.S. Air Marshals is fine. Banning all muslim air travel would make more sense. Let them invent their own transport. Let them pay for it. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-05-11 15:00 |
| #2 said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, a former White House |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-05-11 15:00 |
| #1 Has anyone seen any members of the Duka family in the area? |
| Posted by: doc 2007-05-11 13:53 |