Attack on Americans In Germany "Imminent"

Not really sure why this gets the huge Drudge banner -- it was already reported days ago -- but okay, slow news day, I'll play ball.

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.
...

"There are 300 to 500 people who are suspected to be part of al Qaeda cells in Germany," said Col. Andrews 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. Asked to explain this strange reading of German history, Pratt said, "Well, technically, Jews still aren't 'people' under German law."

I may have added that last sentence.

Why are jihadists going to attack Americans and Germans? Because of Iraq, of course.

...

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.

Pardon ABCNews for misspelling "Iraq" twice. You know what they meant.

posted by Ace at 01:18 PM

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