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U.S., Germans Fear Terror Attack
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ShareMay 11, 2007 12:24 PM
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.
Photos Terror Threat in Germany
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.
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
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.
Several radical Islamist groups have threatened violence unless Germany withdraws its troops from the NATO force in Afghanistan.
A radical Islamist group in Iraq took a German woman and her adult son hostage in February, threatening to execute them if Germany did not pull its troops out of Afghanistan. The two are still being held.
Late last month, the U.S. Embassy in Berlin issued a statement saying that security was being increased at the embassy and other consular facilities "in response to a heightened threat situation." The statement also urged "Americans in Germany to increase their vigilance and take appropriate steps to bolster their own personal security."
A spokesperson at Patch Barracks said they were not aware of any specific surveillance on the location, and they are not under any more specific surveillance than other U.S. facilities in Germany. "As a response to the U.S. Embassy Berlin's recent warden message, all U.S. military installations in Germany are urged to exercise increased viligance," they said in a statement to ABC News.
When asked today about ABC News' report of a terror threat in Germany, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "I don't have anything new on that." He continued, "There was recently, within the past couple weeks...a warden message that went out from our embassy asking people in-country to exercise extra vigilance and caution although, at that point, they didn't have a specific, credible threat, but they were quite concerned."
This post has been updated.
May 11, 2007 in Terror | Permalink | User Comments (529)
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I wonder if these leaks of information by American and German officials are intended to cause a disruption to the cell planning attacks.
Posted by: Brendan | May 11, 2007 12:40:05 PM
No, They are intended to make us afraid, and demand that the government protect us, and give up our liberty. Oh please, big mommy government keep me safe from the scary terrorists.
Posted by: David Smith | May 11, 2007 12:44:26 PM
Old news. I was in Germany 3 weeks ago and they were warning everyone to check the US embassy website for information relating to potential terrorist alerts. Once again the media oversells the story with the use of the word "imminent".
Posted by: cdub | May 11, 2007 12:45:11 PM
But Islam is a religion of peace, why would they ever do something like this? I am shocked and flabbergasted.
Posted by: Corey M | May 11, 2007 12:45:45 PM
Gee, Muslims, violence, and murder...
Who'd of thunk it?
Posted by: Pat | May 11, 2007 12:46:36 PM
Must be Bush's fault eh David!
Posted by: Iben Hakenluggi | May 11, 2007 12:47:15 PM
Yea David thats it. There are no such thing as terrorists. Keep telling yourself that.
Posted by: Matt | May 11, 2007 12:47:37 PM
Old news? You don't see warnings like this very often.
Posted by: Rhain | May 11, 2007 12:47:53 PM
Lovely. I'm visiting someone in the military in Germany next week. This won't effect any of our plans, though.
Posted by: Emily | May 11, 2007 12:48:33 PM
I thought there was no War on Terror. I wonder if they hate us because of Bush? I wonder if Pelosi can find time to go meet with them? Maybe she can come home and tell us there will be peace in our time? Perhaps if Israel just gives up more land they will stop for a while. Maybe is we all convert to Islam they will let us live. Liberals always feed the sharks hoping to get eaten last.
Posted by: Dave T | May 11, 2007 12:48:48 PM
this is not a scare tactic, to make us afraid; but rather a notice that hey we are still fighting a war against terrorists around the world, and we are winning. Brendan may be right too, in that this small leak could be part of a good plan to catch them while disrupting them.
Posted by: sgt. j. michaels | May 11, 2007 12:49:03 PM
Maybe the rest of the world will finally realize that this is a world problem and that pacification is not the answer!!
Posted by: Dave | May 11, 2007 12:49:08 PM
Can't we just send Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed, Dick Durbin and Michael Moore over there for a rousing chorus of Kumbaya? I'm sure that'd work!
Posted by: Jakedog | May 11, 2007 12:49:16 PM
David, pull your head out of your a$$ and look and see that there really are very bad people out there who want to take innocent lives. Am I scared of terrorists? You bet I am! If you aren't, it's because you are a stupid, blind fool.
Posted by: Tim Goodenough | May 11, 2007 12:49:28 PM
Elect me. I will protect you.
No other value appears without sufficient information to evaluate your risk of exactly what threat and make appropriate decisions.
Posted by: Steve Brungard | May 11, 2007 12:49:40 PM
What bunch of BS, like the Bush Color-coded terror alerts. What do you do when Bush has the lowest ratings of any president in US history?
You got it!
Create FEAR as he did throughout his REIGN.
Posted by: CantFoolMe | May 11, 2007 12:49:46 PM
Heaven forbid they alert the potential targets (tourists) so that they can be more aware of their surroundings. Would David Smith rather the attacks happen, so he can blame the powers that be for NOT warning everyone?
Posted by: Mac | May 11, 2007 12:50:10 PM
Germans need to rediscover that Islam is far from just another religious belief and the people planning these attacks have in mind a radical makeover of Germany in the mold of Iran or Saudi Arabia.
How many bodies will have to pile up before Germans awake from thier sleep?
Posted by: Johann | May 11, 2007 12:50:15 PM
It's funny how some people can interpret information like this as the government trying to squash our freedoms. The fact is the terrorists really are trying to harm us and our way of life, but all you can think about is how horrible our government is for pointing it out.
Posted by: me | May 11, 2007 12:50:24 PM
It's a sign they have "chatter" but no hard intel. Something they finally learned from 9/11. Only a dipstick Dem would think it's just a scare tactic. They would much rather see the proof jumping from 70 floors up..
Posted by: dl1965 | May 11, 2007 12:50:31 PM
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