Report: CIA warns Germany, Britain of bomb attacks

Haaretz Daily ^ | 3/16/02 | Reuters

[Gemflint]

Report: CIA warns Germany, Britain of bomb attacks

By Reuters

BERLIN - The United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has warned Germany and Britain about possible bomb attacks by members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, Germany's Focus magazine reported on Saturday.

Citing a memo circulated on March 8 by Germany's BKA federal police authority, the magazine said the CIA tip-off was based on surveillance of two suspected al-Qaeda members in Pakistan.

The two were quoted by the CIA as saying there would soon be "good news" about bomb explosions in Germany and Britain. According to the report, due to be published in Focus magazine's Monday edition, the BKA classed the CIA alert as "vague" because it did not mention any time, target or method.

***But the authority said the fact there could still be al-Qaida "sleepers" in Germany meant security services should assume there was "an unchanged high risk situation in Germany".

Germany has been a center of the worldwide investigation into the September 11 hijacked plane attacks on U.S. cities since it emerged that three of the four kamikaze pilots studied in the northern city of Hamburg.

A German government spokeswoman declined to comment on the report but said that American and German security services remained in close contact with one another.

[Uncle Miltie]

"Many in Europe are on their side, why piss them off?"

Because Islam cannot stand contradiction: You must convert or die. Europeans are nothing if not atheist.

[proudofthesouth]

I believe someone once said that more people have died in the name of religion than in all the worlds wars put together.

[NewYorker]

I well remember the 6 a.m. call from London on September 12th. The caller said the attack on the 11th should prompt Americans to rethink our policies in the Middle East. I thought to myself it will be interesting to revisit this conversation when her next door neighbor is forced to choose between being burned alive or jumping out a window to certain death, and the Houses of Parliament are a pile of smouldering ruins.

[GuillermoX]

I did amend my post in post #12.

I don't believe they view Europe any better or worse than the USA. We are non-Muslim, hence the enemy. They probably hit us because they have limited resources and we are a bigger target. They did blow up Pan Am 103 and tried to doom an Air France flight.

[buzzcat]

Well, thanks so much CIA! Just where the bleep were you guys on 9/10? Watching Monday Night Football, like the rest of us? Do you pick up ABC there at Langley, you dip-sh**s? Thanks for "warning" Europe, though, we appreciate it, fellas. You big dopes. Ohh...I need a break now. This is insane.

[The Vast Right Wing]

Bacon out of the fire refers to the fact the U.S. has fought 3 wars in the 20th century to protect europe. WWI and WWII as well as the cold war. Not to say it was not in the US interest to do it, but if countries in Europe would defend themselves (i.e. build a modern army when hitler was modernizing) and so forth the US would not be in that position. I agree that Europe has been plagued with terror problems, but the reality is that instead of fighting terrorism the appease it. They negotiate instead of destroy. I think it is something cultural, they did it with Hitler. The problem is that no matter how hard you try, you can not appease evil. Evil must be destroyed, period.

[Pagey]

If what you say is true,then I can't wait until bombs start going off elsewhere in the world and then we'll see how their attitudes are and if they start complaining or just pretend they don't happen.That should be interesting.After all,They don't just hate Americans,right?Shouldn't everyone who isn't an Islamic follower be a "Satan" then?

[TheMole]

The argument - that Islamic radicals wouldn't attack Europe because they have support there - could also be applied within the United States. What part of the United States is the home of self-hating media, the spiritual center of the American pacifist and defeatist left? My answer would be New York. When they attacked it, they effectively reduced potential criticism of American military retaliation. It doesn't seem like a smart move, but as a poster pointed out, they don't think like us. During World War II, the fascist states made some dumb moves that hastened their defeat. The same thing may happen here.

[powderhorn]

Many in Europe are on their side, why piss them off?

Here's the sick part. Al Qaeda wants Europe pissed off at muslems. So far they have not succeeded in creating a world wide holy war because most muslems are still waiting to see what happens next. They want all of the west pissed at muslems so that the muslems will feel that they have no choice but to rise up to defend Islam.

So far Al Qaeda has been isolated, which is a very good thing for the west, a bad thing for Al Qaeda.

[Churchillspirit]

Strange comment from London re 9/11. The Londoners who lived through the blitz - and later the IRA campaign against civilians and animals - were not calling for a change of policy against the Nazis or the IRA.

Since the terrorist attacks in September, I have spoken to friends in London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Newcastle, Leicester and the reaction is just the same as here - horror, sympathy for the victims and a determination not to bow to terrorism.