As the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks draws near, authorities in the U.S. and around the world are likely to keep an even closer watch on known and suspected terror groups and vulnerable targets.
Whether or not the three terror suspects arrested in Germany on Tuesday intended to attack on that date isn’t known. What is known is that the suspects had the motivation: a “profound hatred of U.S. citizens,” German prosecutors said. They also had the materials: about 1,500 pounds of hydrogen peroxide for making explosives. That’s enough, when mixed with other additives, to produce a bomb packing the same power as 1,200 pounds of TNT — more potent than the bombs used in the mass transit attacks in London and Madrid.
The suspects were allegedly plotting to attack sites that drew a lot of American traffic, including discos, bars, airports and military installations. That probably explains a warning issued last April by the U.S. Embassy in Berlin that Americans in Germany should “increase their vigilance and take appropriate steps to bolster their own personal security.”
As always, when news of such alleged plots goes public, there’s great public relief and praise for exhaustive and effective police work. All true here. There’s also a question that often arises: Why these suspects — two German nationals and a Turk — and why this scheme?
Apparently, some feared that Germany’s growing involvement in the Afghanistan war could invite terrorist attacks on its soil.
The more likely explanation: Islamic terrorists don’t care about international boundaries. They want to kill as many “infidels” as possible. In July 2006, for instance, two gas bombs were placed on commuter trains in Germany but did not explode. Officials said that attack was motivated by anger over cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper. Note: A Danish newspaper. Not a German one.
Those who seek coherence and consistency in terrorists’ motives are bound to be disappointed. Blind hatred isn’t rational.
The arrests come as Germany, like the U.S., has been engaged in an emotional debate over how to combat terrorism and protect civil liberties at the same time.
Germany’s top security official, Wolfgang Schaeuble recently prompted heavy protests when he said Germany should consider detaining potential terrorists and support the killing of terrorist leaders in other nations. In the U.S., there have been cries over a vote by Congress to expand the government’s abilities to conduct warrantless eavesdropping on foreign suspects whose communications go through the U.S.
The arrests in Germany are a reminder that those debates over security measures can’t be conducted in the abstract. The threats are real.
Not that most Americans need such a reminder. In July, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, in a visit to the Tribune, mentioned his “gut feeling” that the nation faced a heightened chance of an attack this summer. As the Sept. 11 anniversary approaches — and particularly with news of the thwarted plot overseas and the arrest by Danish authorities of eight suspected Al Qaeda-linked militants Tuesday — Americans may find themselves on edge.
People can’t help but remember.
