 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
German Anti-Terror Debate
UPI Germany Correspondent Berlin, Germany (UPI) Aug 14, 2006 The investigation surrounding the foiled terror plan to blow up ten commercial aircraft departing the United Kingdom is likely to expand into mainland Europe as British terror plotters had contact with extremists in Germany, according to a government official in Berlin. "Apparently the alleged terrorists had some contacts into Germany," August Hanning, deputy interior minister, told the Sunday edition of German mass daily Bild. The contacts will be investigated, Hanning said, but refused to give further information. Meanwhile, the German news magazine Focus reported that one of the 24 arrested British suspects was in contact with Nese Bahaji, the wife of terrorist Said Bahaii, who likely was the logistics chief of the Hamburg-based terror cell of Mohammed Atta, the group that orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Said Bahaji is thought to be hiding in Pakistan. While an Islamist terror attack has not happened on German soil since the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, German officials are keen to stress the country remains in the thick of global terror. The former German government won much respect in the Muslim world for its stark opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, but the reemergence of Berlin's friendly alliance with Washington in terms of Middle East policy (Chancellor Angela Merkel backed Bush's strategy not to call for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon) is likely to irritate Islamists. The news of the foiled terrorist attacks -- which, if successful, would likely have killed more people than Sept. 11 -- has fueled several debates in connection with the fight against terrorism. As the British government downgraded its national terror threat level from critical to severe Monday and eased some airline carry-on baggage restrictions, Germany is mulling tightening its anti-terror laws and allowing the domestic deployment of the Bundeswehr, its army, a move the constitution currently forbids. "There are scenarios that only the Bundeswehr can solve because it has the necessary manpower to do so," Karl-Heinz Kamp, security expert at the Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung, a Berlin-based think tank with ties to Merkel's conservatives, Monday told United Press International in a telephone interview. The opposition and several Social Democrats, the conservatives' government coalition partners, argue the federal police can handle interior problems, as it may ask for Bundeswehr assistance and equipment in case of extraordinary emergencies. Germany may undertake changes in other areas as well. The former Social Democrat-Green Party government introduced anti-terror laws in the weeks following Sept. 11, and they are up for review at the moment. The point which causes most controversy is the planned introduction of an "anti-terror file," a database that would comprise information about potential extremists under investigation. The government is currently working on a draft for the anti-terror file and is likely to vote on it after the summer break next month. The idea of such a database, which all law enforcement agents in Germany then would have access to, has been floated ever since Sept. 11, but has not made it into law because of data protection concerns. "Data protection in this case is given too much weight," Kamp said. "The database could easily be made available to everyone without ethical shortcomings." The opposition protests this, as the file would include personal details, such as telephone numbers, addresses, and bank information -- too much, says Hans-Christian Stroebele, the Green Party's leader in parliament. "Such a file would only make sense if it's an index file, meaning if it would not include details," he told German news channel n-tv. "It can't be in the interest of the intelligence community to give access to such information to all police stations." Other measures have been considered to prevent a process of radicalization of young Muslims as happened in the United Kingdom: Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble aims to actively involve Germany's Muslim community in the fight against terror. The matter will be raised at an Islam summit next month, which the government called after it ran into integration problems. Schaeuble told German daily Welt that German Muslims shared "common values and convictions" with the rest of the country on key social issues. "This means that we have to jointly proceed against terror," Schaeuble said. Meanwhile, Lufthansa, Germany's biggest commercial airline, has upped its security standards on flights to London and the United States after such a directive came from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On Monday, as many as one in five Lufthansa flights to the United Kingdom and the United States were cancelled, but customers have acted in a "very understanding" manner, Stefan Schaffrath, a Lufthansa spokesman, told UPI via telephone.
Source: United Press International Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links News and analysis about the Global War Against Terror at SpaceWar.com The Long War - Doctrine and Application
French smart-card firm wins US biometric passport contract
Paris, Aug 4, 2006 Shares in the French digitial security group Gemalto shot up by more than 4.0 percent in morning trading Friday on news it had won a major US contract for electronic passport technology. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
