Attacks planned for U.S. targets in Germany: media

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and German officials say they believed terrorists were planning an attack on U.S. military personnel or tourists in Germany, ABC News reported on its Web site on Friday.

"The information behind the threat is very real," a senior U.S. official told ABC News.

German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told ABC: "The danger level is high. We are part of the global threat by Islamist terrorism."

U.S. air marshals are providing additional protection of flights between Germany and the United States, law enforcement officials told ABCNews.com.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/security_germany_warning_dc

---

U.S.: Terror plot discovered in Germany
POSTED: 1729 GMT (0129 HKT), May 11, 2007
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. authorities say they have discovered a terrorist plot in the advance stages of planning against U.S. citizens or interests in Germany.

The plot -- which has been planned for some time -- included the use of bombs and small arms, a senior federal official told CNN Friday.

Asked who might be responsible, the official said an al Qaeda affiliate franchise in Europe.

Other members of the intelligence community told CNN they felt the threat information was vague on timing.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying there was no credible intelligence to suggest an imminent threat on U.S. soil.

more: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/05/11/germany.security/index.html

U.S. officials unaware of new German terror threat

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. military and counterterrorism officials are unaware of a new terror threat against U.S. installations in Germany beyond a more general warning issued several weeks ago, officials said on Friday.

"We're unaware of anything new. We have not changed our force posture," a defense official said.

A U.S. counterterrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added: "The threat was taken seriously at the time and isn't being dismissed now. But there's nothing to suggest a new urgency to this."

"There's nothing new here," the official added.

more:
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-05-11T172806Z_01_N11470250_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-GERMANY-warning.xml

[Monkeyman]

1. CNN said they are not sure about if they were ready

[maddezmom]

3. the terrorists or the Germans?

:shrug: My husband travels to Germany all the time, wonder if this will disrupt flights?

[Turbineguy]

2. Hmm... I wonder

are these Islamists aware that the US Military is armed? I should imagine they would go for the tourists. Much safer.

[acmavm]

4. Hell, after the way we've indiscrimately killed innocent people

in Iraq and Afganistan I'm sure that there's a lot of 'terraists' out there after American blood. What would you do if you were witness to the death of your family? How mad would you be if they/you weren't guilty of anything but living in a country where there's shitloads of oil under the ground? Or if your crime was living in a country where religious fundie whackjobs were running the show (through no fault of your own)?

Wait a minute, the last one is tooooooo close to home.

[Karenina]

5. Oh great. The CDU is now officially on board the *train...

:argh:

[NightWatcher]

6. I scream huge "bullshit"

if they mess with Germany, I'll be real pissed (at the US not the "a-rabs")

[formercia]

7. Joint US/ German operation?

Shades of Gladio.

I guess the German Knights were feeling left-out.

[karlrschneider]

8. "the information....is very real" ? ?

Uh huh.
:eyes:

[Eugene]

9. U.S. officials unaware of new German terror threat (Reuters)

Source: Reuters

U.S. officials unaware of new German terror threat

18 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. military and counterterrorism officials
are unaware of a new terror threat against U.S. installations in Germany
beyond a more general warning issued several weeks ago, officials said
on Friday.

"We're unaware of anything new. We have not changed our force
posture," a defense official said.

A U.S. counterterrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
added: "The threat was taken seriously at the time and isn't being
dismissed now. But there's nothing to suggest a new urgency to this."

"There's nothing new here," the official added.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070511/ts_nm/security_germany_warning_dc

[maddezmom]

10. have to admit that scares me a bit

shades of the AUG PDB :scared:

[Eugene]

11. New Reuters story at link: U.S. officials say no new security threat in Germany

Source: Reuters

U.S. officials say no new security threat in Germany

40 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and German officials said on Friday
there was no new security threat in Germany after ABC News
reported that officials believed that terrorists were planning an
attack on U.S. military personnel or tourists in Germany.

ABC News, in a report on its Web site, quoted a senior U.S. official
as saying, "The information behind the threat is very real." It also
quoted German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble as saying,
"The danger level is high. We are part of the global threat by
Islamist terrorism."

But officials in Germany, which is hosting a G8 summit of major
industrialized countries next month, and in the United States, said
they were unaware of a new threat.

-snip-

In Germany, the Interior Ministry said there had been no change
in the security situation.

"There is nothing new," a spokesman for the ministry said in a
statement. "What we're looking at is the state of affairs that has
been long since known. This caused the U.S. authorities to publish
a warning to their own citizens in Germany."

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070511/ts_nm/security_germany_warning_dc

[stillcool]

12. as good a place as any...

Fast Fact: The sprawling Spangdahlem Air Base complex currently includes about 1,282 acres of land, a 10,000-foot primary runway, an 8,074-foot secondary runway and over 500 buildings.

Over the years, the Pentagon has invested tens of billions of dollars to build military communities in Germany that are second-to-none anywhere in the world for infrastructure and amenities.

The value of this investment is beyond dispute: A first-class network of road-, rail- and river-ways spares U.S. military personnel logistical headaches — and saves U.S. taxpayers money.

After all, the costs of constructing these sprawling complexes were paid decades ago — with the help of generous German contributions.

And even today, Germany continues to contribute nearly $1 billion each year to the maintenance of U.S. bases.

* To put that number in perspective, consider this: According to figures from the Council on Foreign Relations, Ramstein, the biggest U.S. base in Germany, costs about $1 billion annually — an amount equal to Germany's yearly contribution toward the upkeep of U.S.bases.

* On average, the others cost about $240 million each — about the same as a single F/A-22 fighter jet.

June 14, 2004
Military Bases in Germany

The Pentagon is proposing sharp cuts in U.S. forces in Germany, which for more than half a century has been America's biggest military outpost in Europe. It's a bad idea, particularly at a time when the United States is struggling to rebuild its relations with its NATO allies.

Washington is hoping to cut its military presence in Germany — a little more than 70,000 soldiers — roughly in half. Two heavy divisions now based there, and the soldiers' families, would return to the United States. They would be replaced by a much smaller light combat brigade, while other units would be rotated in and out, at considerable cost, for short-term exercises. The Air Force is also thinking of moving some of its F-16 fighter jets from Germany to Turkey, where they would be closer to Middle East trouble spots but subject to restrictions by the host government.

The large American military presence in Germany has long symbolized the understanding at the heart of NATO — Washington's commitment to remain permanently engaged in Europe's security and to integrate its military operations with those of its major European allies. Recent history has only reinforced how important that relationship is to the United States. NATO is the only alliance capable of sharing some of the global military burdens that have now overstretched America's ground forces.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The German bases have other advantages as well. They are much closer to the Middle East and Central Asia than bases in the United States and are in a safe country with a stable democracy and the modern conveniences that make life easier for troops on long tours overseas. Soldiers stationed there have access to a variety of training exercises and can enjoy down time with their families. The American military hospital at Ramstein Air Base, the largest outside the United States, provides specialized care for battlefield casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan as it did for those from Bosnia, Kosovo and the U.S.S. Cole.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/14/opinion/14MON1.html?ei=5070&en=2faf9e928c9f8468&ex=1179028800&pagewanted=print&position=

US Air Force and Army Military Installations in Germany
The installation map shows the active aircraft operating Air Force and Army bases in Germany.

Military Installations Map of Germany
Code Installation
ETEP AAF Armstrong Army Heliport
EOD AAF Coleman
ETEU AAF Giebelstadt
ETIC AAF Grafenwoehr
ETID AAF Hanau
(Fliegerhorst Kaserne)
ETEE AAF Heidelberg
(Patton Barracks)
ETIH AAF Hohenfels (CMTC)
ETEB AAF Katterbach Barracks
ETIK AAF Storck Barracks
EDDS AAF Stuttgart
WIE AAF Wiesbaden
EDFS AHP Schweinfurt
(Conn Barracks)

FRF AB Rhein-Main
GKE AB Geilenkirchen
(NATO Base)
RMS AB Ramstein
SEX AB Sembach
SPM AB Spangdahlem

ESH AS Einsiedlerhof
http://www.globemaster.de/germanybases.html

The American Empire: 1992 to present
from the book
Killing Hope
by William Blum
2004 edition

Following its bombing of Iraq in 1991, the United States wound up with military bases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Following its bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, the United States wound up with military bases in Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Hungary, Bosnia and Croatia.
Following its bombing of Afghanistan in 2001-2, the United States wound up with military bases in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Yemen and Djibouti.
Following its bombing and invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States wound up with Iraq.
This is not very subtle foreign policy. Certainly not covert. The men who run the American Empire are not easily embarrassed.
And that is the way the empire grows-a base in every neighborhood, ready to be mobilized to put down any threat to imperial rule, real or imagined. Fifty-eight years after world War II ended, the United States still has major bases in Germany and Japan; fifty ears after the end of the Korean War, tens of thousands of American armed forces continue to be stationed in South Korea.
"America will have a continuing interest and presence in Central Asia of a kind that we could not have dreamed of before," US Secretary of State Colin Powell declared in February 2002. Later that year, the US Defense Department announced: "The United States Military is currently deployed to more locations then it has been throughout history."
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/American_Empire_KH2004.html

[Eugene]

13. U.S. officials say Germany threat may involve Kurds (Reuters)

U.S. officials say Germany threat may involve Kurds

2 hours, 3 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A threat warning issued by United States
in Germany last month could involve attack plans by an al Qaeda-
affiliated group of Kurdish extremists, officials said on Friday.

U.S. and German authorities said, however, that there was no new
threat in Germany beyond the official April 20 State Department
warning.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070511/ts_nm/security_germany_warning_dc

[RL3AO]

14. I'd love to see a couple guys try to attack Ramstein AFB. That'd be hillarious.

[bigworld]

15. Just like ABC's "imminent" terrorist attack on London

over last Christmas?