Posted on 5/11/2007, 5:23:15 PM by MindBender26
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.
Duplicate Thread
Hmmm.
Have the Dems “questioned the timing” yet?
Drudge just removed it...
That could be a tough sell since this has been rumored for awhile now. I’m wondering if someone leaked this or if the Govt released it in hopes of dissuading the muzzies from carrying it out. My bet is the leaker.
“In a democratic state like Germany, you just can’t go out and arbitrarily arrest people because they are under suspicion,” Pratt said.
*snort*
If there is an attack against the US will we hear,the Democrats lied and people died? After all they are telling America that we are not at war! If ther is an attack on America in the next two years will we hold the Democratic Party accountable for telling us there is no war?
Germany?
I heard Dick Morris say something last night that I believe (shut-my-mouth!). Anyway, he said that the Democrats had done a poll that showed that people were more likely to vote Republican the more threatened they feel and that Democrats were trying to down-play any event or threat to the US just to get votes.
Media spin if it doesn’t happen: “The Bush administration is spreading wild rumors to frighten people.”
Media spin if it happens: “This is all Bush’s fault.”
Nah; I don’t believe that anti-terrorism officials are leaking scoops to ABC News anonymously.
I believe maybe ABC News heard some scuttlebutt about air marshalls mobilizing, and filled in the blanks with pure conjecture. If nothing comes of it, they figure they’ll only have hurt make Bush and Merkl.
BREAKING NEWS: BRIAN ROSS HAS NO MORE CREDIBILiTY
I doubt it will come to anything. I certainly hope it doesn’t. But if these terror groups lose the element of surprise, it defeats the purpose of their attack. They are either probing US agencies, giving up on the upcoming attack and revising their plans, or all of the above.
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