Posted on 08/21/2006 7:17:57 PM PDT by Mount Athos
The disclosure that a botched plot to bomb two German trains last month involved a 21-year-old Lebanese man has punctured the sense of immunity many Germans felt from the Islamic terrorist attacks that have haunted other European countries.
The bombing plot, which has led to the arrest of the Lebanese suspect in northern Germany and an intense manhunt for a second suspect, is also reshaping a politically charged debate in Berlin over how much latitude to give law enforcement authorities in fighting terrorism.
On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel reaffirmed her support for expanded use of closed-circuit cameras in train stations and other public places. A camera caught grainy images of two men with suitcases boarding trains in Cologne, and the police arrested one, identified as Youssef Mohammed E. H., on Saturday, a day after they broadcast the footage.
The suitcases, stuffed with propane bombs and left on the trains, failed to explode because of a technical defect, according to the German federal prosecutor. That close call has led Germans to rethink their historic reluctance to measures like video surveillance and extensive database searches.
We havent had this serious a threat since 9/11, said Rolf Tophoven, a prominent terrorism expert. Its clear we have people in Germany who are willing to carry out a huge and harmful attack.
While the extent of the plot is still shrouded in mystery, prosecutors said it was unlikely that the would-be bombers were acting alone. The men may have been motivated by anger over the war in Lebanon, in which the German government has agreed to play a limited, peacekeeping role.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
meanwhile they waffle about sending troops that might actually have to fire on Israelis....
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2141653,00.html
I wish you were right. They've caught the appeasement disease and are in the terminal phase. And in America, we're running low on antibiotics.
I'm 3/4 German heritage. But the Germans will never fight the fight.
That is a fantastic post devolve!! The link page is great - and jivey!!
Where in Germany were you born?
ping
Based on some of the comments I read from German civilians quoted in this article, you might be right. When western civilizations start fretting about what they might have done to make the I-F savages mad at them, they are on the road to appeasement and ultimate submission to the savages.
Hey Germans, don't worry about some supposed slight that might have offended some I-F murdering moron...fight back. Kill them before they kill you. Nothing short of ultimate submission will stop them from trying to kill you. Get them first.
Might be interesting to you that the deciding tip to the Polizei came from Lebanese intelligence which had part of the perpetrator's family watched because they were under suspicion of being Islamist sympathizers.
imoressive .gif!
Just updated version of that graphic:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1688119/posts?page=26#26
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