Between 3,000 and 5,000 potential Islamic suicide attackers are in Germany, Guenther Beckstein, interior minister of Bavaria, told an online newspaper.
In an interview with Netzeitung on September 12, Beckstein exhibited concern that small terrorist cells were capable of preparing attacks without being detected.
“In Germany we have between 3,000 and 5,000 of these Islamists who are prepared to use violence and do not shrink from suicide attacks,” Beckstein said (Associated Press, September 12).
Beckstein, a member of Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (csu) maintains that anti-terror laws in Germany are still too lax to deal with security threats.
Currently, Germany’s constitution strictly limits domestic troop deployment to defensive missions and prohibits state surveillance except in extreme situations. In response to the July 7 terrorist bombings in London, the csu, sister party to Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (cdu), proposed a constitutional amendment to allow the government to place federal troops on patrol in cities during times of emergency. The proposal has received fierce opposition from other parties.
The cdu/csu also insists on creating an “anti-terror database,” that would provide information on individuals, to help investigators avert terrorist threats. Disputes between the cdu/csu and the Social Democratic Party over how much information should be included in the file has prevented its creation so far.
Watch for the growing fear of terrorist attacks in Germany to motivate Berlin to find new ways to secure its country. Right now the debate is in the domestic realm—whether or not to use the German military within German borders. But watch for the nation to increase the use of its military outside its borders to stem the terrorist threat.
Soon Germany will exert the will to take out terrorism at its very head. For more information see our September-October article “The New Islamic Superpower.”