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| Europe | ||
| Austria Arrests Three in Latest Islamist Terror Plot in Europe | ||
| 2007-09-13 | ||
| Austria became the latest European country to grapple with the threat of terrorism as it arrested three people with links to al Qaeda who posted an online video threatening attacks against Austria and Germany. Austrian Interior Minister Günther Platter said on Wednesday, Sept. 12, that the trio suspected of producing the video, which demanded German and Austrian soldiers leave Afghanistan, had confessed to having links to al Qaeda. The three, however, had not built an independent terrorist cell and at no time was Austria directly in danger, he added. "Austria was not under threat of an attack at any time," Platter told a news conference. "We could determine that based on the actions of the three."
The online video, aired in March this year, shows a masked speaker urging Austria and Germany to cease their support of the United States in Afghanistan. The speaker said Austria, reliant on tourism for an important part of its revenue, would be damaged if it were targeted by militants, and asked why Germany would risk its economic interests to help US President George W. Bush. Austria had four military officers in Afghanistan at the time the video was posted. Germany has nearly 3,000 troops stationed in the country. The arrests in Austria are the latest in a string of Islamist terrorism plots uncovered by authorities in European countries. Since the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the US six years ago, Europe has suffered far more than the United States from new attacks and reported plots.
A week ago, Germany said it foiled an Islamist militant plan to carry out "massive bomb attacks" on US installations in the country which authorities said could have created worse carnage than attacks in Madrid and London in recent years. Germany arrested three men in connection with the attempted attacks. On Tuesday, Sept. 11, the Islamic Jihad Union, a group affiliated to al Qaeda and with roots in Uzbekistan, claimed responsibility for the foiled plot. Platter said he was not aware of any links between the German and the Austrian suspects, but said the surveillance had produced evidence the Austrians had contacts to al Qaeda. "The technical (surveillance) measures of the last months have shown that the persons were in touch with the terror network al Qaeda," he said, but he declined to elaborate on how or with whom contact had been made.Ž In a sign that Europeans are increasingly nervous about their vulnerability to terrorism, a recent survey by the German Marshall Fund of the United States showed a sharp increase in the number of Germans who fear international terrorism. The survey said that 70 percent of Germans felt they might suffer a terror attack, a 32 percent increase over 2005. That brings the fear of terror among Germans close to the level of fear among Americans, which stood at 74 percent in a similar survey On Wednesday, a report by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) gave further cause for concern. The growth of international terrorism will remain one of the main challenges for 2008 after the recent discovery of terrorism plots in Europe, the report said. The plots showed that "core" al Qaeda was "adaptable and resilient," it added. | ||
| Posted by:lotp |
| #17 OP: The other big difference with us is we accept THE immigrant not the IDEA of immigration as our left-wing secular humanist duty like in Europe. I know from living there. Immigration is a given and they willingly accept them and put them in enclaves but never go beyond that - full acceptance, assimilation etc. They then make the excuse that "its up to them to integrate, not up to me to accept them". That to me is the big difference. Even in Dearborn they root for the Tigers, Lions and Redwings but can party when Iraq wins the Asia Cup in soccer. Split loyaltys are okay - I still follow County Mayo in Irish Football because my Mom was from there. Think about it - if it wasn't for the arab-american community in Dearborn where we get the first string of interpreters, etc. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2007-09-13 15:34 |
| #16 If the second generation Muslims radicalize enough, maybe there won't BE a third generation. Heh, Glenmore. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-09-13 15:24 |
| #15 In the United States, new immigrants usually stay in enclaves - mostly for the familiarity in a strange and sometimes frightening land. First-generation begin to move outside the enclave, but usually remain nearby. By the third generation, they live where they can find work and are fully integrated. In Europe, they simply pile up. The most striking difference is that in the United States, 95+% of us are immigrants of one sort or another. Being an "American" is a state of mind, not a drone in a mindless State. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-09-13 14:18 |
| #14 thanks Oscar Theater2320, I did use etc. BUT excellent point, I left out Asia even tho I have Asians in my extended family... All second generation Japanese, Chinese, East Indians, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Aussie, Kiwi, Thai, Nepali, Tibetan, Chinese, Cambodian, Laotian, are adapting, and are assimilating, some faster than others.. Some adapt in one or two years of immigrating, Aussie, Kiwi, because of a similar background and race to many Americans. I don't know any large populations of Malaysians in the USA. But Malaysians are head pounders and I will never trust them, 9/11. The Hmong in Ca. are having a considerable gang problems. The Tongan and Samoans I've know can be rather clannish but make good soldiers once they commit. ..and NFL linemen, SUMO wrestlers LOL! |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-09-13 12:52 |
| #13 Sort of, but not quite. You don't subsidise sloth, so immigrants have to interact with the community through work. That IS treating them better, Bright Pebbles. It means we treat them as adults who are capable of contributing to society. |
| Posted by: lotp 2007-09-13 11:35 |
| #12 Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, Malay,Hmong, Philippino,Tongan,Samoan,Aussie,Kiwi,Thai,Nepali,Tibetan,Chinese,Cambodian,Laotion, does this group assimilate as well as the European immagrants? I think for the most part, but still we all tend to group ourselves by some sense of national originality. Look at the Italian sections of the city or the China townsor the Scandanavian areas. We do however, realize that there is an assumed sort of equality here ion the USA and thats why everyone likes it, it makes the most sense when you live in it, way more than some "OLD" country with all it baggage of Kings and Provincial Warring history. |
| Posted by: Oscar Theater2320 2007-09-13 11:24 |
| #11 And third, we treat our immigrants better. And fourth, Americans are armed. Jihadis may yearn for self-immolation but - perhaps paradoxically - they fear being gunned down like rabid dogs. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-09-13 08:55 |
| #10 But still, in the EUSSR you come in, work as a menial, or go on the dole, and live in an enclave and not be part of society. You will never be a Frenchman or a German. Here, if you want to be an American, you basically are. Now, you can come here as a moslem or a Mexican and resist assimilation and our idiotic governments and social activists will help you. Still, the offer to assimilate is there, and it's real. |
| Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds 2007-09-13 08:52 |
| #9 Pebbles, don't fool yourself. There's a lot of Sloth Subsidizing here in the USA. (maybe our hoops our a bit higher or smaller?) |
| Posted by: Captain Lewis 2007-09-13 08:42 |
| #8 And THOSE semites didn't even DO anything to deserve it. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-09-13 07:14 |
| #7 Muslims should attack Austria because they are fighting Islam in Iraq, right? If the second generation Muslims radicalize enough, maybe there won't BE a third generation. 1924 Austria seemed a pretty decent place for semites, but by 1944 most all of them were gone. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-09-13 07:13 |
| #6 It's more than that, Bright Pebbles. People come here with the intention of working very hard, people go to the EU with the intention of going straight on the dole. The selection starts at the airport ticket counter. Then, too, we haven't the percentages y'all do. Concentration has been shown to make a difference. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-09-13 06:49 |
| #5 > And third, we treat our immigrants better. Sort of, but not quite. You don't subsidise sloth, so immigrants have to interact with the community through work. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2007-09-13 05:01 |
| #4 The survey said that 70 percent of Germans felt they might suffer a terror attack, a 32 percent increase over 2005. That brings the fear of terror among Germans close to the level of fear among Americans, which stood at 74 percent in a similar survey So are we 'afraid' or are we just being logical? |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2007-09-13 03:07 |
| #3 Just see how people come back from Ramadan this year. |
| Posted by: newc 2007-09-13 01:39 |
| #2 All three are second-generation Austrian citizens with Arab origins. Kinda makes you wonder just how radicalized the third generations are going to be. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-09-13 00:50 |
| #1 All three are second-generation Austrian citizens with Arab origins. Not your Italian, Dutch, Irish, English, Scots, French, German, Swedish, Finish, Norwegian, Russian, Greek, Romanian, Croatian, Spanish, Portuguese, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuania, Denmark, Switzerland, Austrian, Belgium, Netherlands and Serbia... etc, immigrants who have come to America and then like millions before them fully assimilated becoming Americans in Full!!. |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-09-13 00:33 |