Security issues in Germany
Encyclopedia
Security issues in Germany covers the major threats to Germany
's national
and international security
.
, Germany does not face a conventional threat to its territory. In his own words, “At present, and in the foreseeable future, a conventional threat to the German territory is not recognizable.”
. The primary targets are believed to be American
, British
, Israel
i, and Jewish facilities, although the facilities of other nations also are endangered. Potential targets include embassies, consulates, nuclear power plants, dams, airports, sewage plants, subways, skyscrapers, sports stadiums, and churches, according to the former interior minister. The fact that Germany refused to participate in 2003 invasion of Iraq
may mitigate the risk of terrorism by extremist Islamic groups somewhat. However, German authorities are not complacent. Germany also faces an internal threat from right-wing and left-wing extremists. At the end of 2004, there were 168 right-wing extremist organizations with 40,700 members, according to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Neo-Nazis totaled about 3,800. A hard core of right-wing extremists capable of violence is estimated at about 10,000. Three political parties are associated with right-wing extremism: the Republicans
, the German People's Union
, and the National Democratic Party of Germany
. The far-right German People’s Union holds six seats in the Brandenburg
state parliament and one seat in the Bremen
state parliament. At the end of 2004, the far left, which has revolutionary Marxist and anarchist factions, had about 30,800 adherents. Only about 1,000 out of 65,800 members of the Party of Democratic Socialism support a communist platform. Approximately 5,500 far-left extremists are deemed to be capable of violence.
, Germans were surprised to learn that the mastermind of the strike and several accomplices previously had been living in Hamburg
. Since then, Germany has been a reliable partner in the United States-led War on Terrorism
, according to the U.S. Department of State. German courts have a very high standard of proof, which has made it difficult for authorities to convict or deport terrorist suspects. In February 2003, a Hamburg court convicted Mounir el Motassadeq
of aiding and abetting the conspiracy and sentenced him to the maximum available term of 15 years. However, in March 2004, the German supreme court overturned this conviction, which was the first in the world related to the 9/11 incident, for lack of evidence and remanded the case for retrial. Finally, in August 2005, a Hamburg court re-convicted el Motassadeq and sentenced him to a seven-year prison term. In another case, years of procedural maneuvers were required before the German judicial system finally succeeded in October 2004 in deporting an Islamic extremist, the so-called “caliph of Cologne,” to Turkey. In yet another case, in July 2005 a Syrian-German terrorist suspect was released from custody after the German supreme court ruled that he could not be extradited to Spain
under a European Union
arrest warrant because this step would violate Germany’s Basic Law.
In August 2006, the German government disclosed a botched plot to bomb two German trains. The attack was to occur in July 2006 and involved a 21-year-old Lebanese man, identified only as Youssef Mohammed E. H. Prosecutors said Youssef and another man left suitcases stuffed with crude propane-gas bombs on the trains. The explosives failed to detonate because of a "technical defect," according to the German federal prosecutor. If they had, the police said, a "high number" of passengers would have been killed. Prosecutors said it was likely the would-be bombers were not acting alone and may have been motivated by anger over the war in Lebanon
, in which the German government has agreed to play a limited, peacekeeping role. Prosecutors also said Lebanon’s military intelligence agency had offered German authorities "decisive" information that led to Yousef's arrest.http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/world/europe/21cnd-germany.html?ref=world
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's national
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
and international security
International security
International security consists of the measures taken by nations and international organizations, such as the United Nations, to ensure mutual survival and safety. These measures include military action and diplomatic agreements such as treaties and conventions. International and national security...
.
External threats
According to former German Defense Minister Peter StruckPeter Struck
Peter Struck was the German Minister of Defence under chancellor Gerhard Schröder from 22 October 2002 until 2005. A lawyer, Struck is a member of the Social Democratic Party.-Education:* 1962: Abitur...
, Germany does not face a conventional threat to its territory. In his own words, “At present, and in the foreseeable future, a conventional threat to the German territory is not recognizable.”
Internal threats
At the end of 2004, Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution identified 24 Islamic organizations operating in Germany that pose a security risk or promote extremism. Members and followers of these organizations total approximately 31,800, about 1 percent of Muslims living in Germany. The Turkish organization Islamic Society Milli Görüs has the largest following, numbering 26,500. However, only a small hard core of fanatics is considered to be capable of terrorismTerrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
. The primary targets are believed to be American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i, and Jewish facilities, although the facilities of other nations also are endangered. Potential targets include embassies, consulates, nuclear power plants, dams, airports, sewage plants, subways, skyscrapers, sports stadiums, and churches, according to the former interior minister. The fact that Germany refused to participate in 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
may mitigate the risk of terrorism by extremist Islamic groups somewhat. However, German authorities are not complacent. Germany also faces an internal threat from right-wing and left-wing extremists. At the end of 2004, there were 168 right-wing extremist organizations with 40,700 members, according to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Neo-Nazis totaled about 3,800. A hard core of right-wing extremists capable of violence is estimated at about 10,000. Three political parties are associated with right-wing extremism: the Republicans
Republicans (Germany)
The Republicans is a national conservative political party in Germany. The primary plank of the program is opposition to immigration. The party tends to attract protest voters who think that the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria are not sufficiently conservative...
, the German People's Union
German People's Union
The German People's Union is a nationalist political party in Germany. It was founded by publisher Gerhard Frey as an informal association in 1971 and established as a party in 1987. Financially, it is largely dependent on Frey....
, and the National Democratic Party of Germany
National Democratic Party of Germany
The National Democratic Party of Germany – The People's Union , is a far right German nationalist party. It was founded in 1964 a successor to the German Reich Party . Party statements self-identify as Germany's "only significant patriotic force"...
. The far-right German People’s Union holds six seats in the Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
state parliament and one seat in the Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
state parliament. At the end of 2004, the far left, which has revolutionary Marxist and anarchist factions, had about 30,800 adherents. Only about 1,000 out of 65,800 members of the Party of Democratic Socialism support a communist platform. Approximately 5,500 far-left extremists are deemed to be capable of violence.
Terrorism
Following al Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, terrorist attack against the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Germans were surprised to learn that the mastermind of the strike and several accomplices previously had been living in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. Since then, Germany has been a reliable partner in the United States-led War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, according to the U.S. Department of State. German courts have a very high standard of proof, which has made it difficult for authorities to convict or deport terrorist suspects. In February 2003, a Hamburg court convicted Mounir el Motassadeq
Mounir El Motassadeq
Mounir el-Motassadeq was accused of being a member of al-Qaeda and of assisting some of the organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was initially convicted of involvement in the attack, but his sentence was set aside on appeal, then reinstated on further appeal...
of aiding and abetting the conspiracy and sentenced him to the maximum available term of 15 years. However, in March 2004, the German supreme court overturned this conviction, which was the first in the world related to the 9/11 incident, for lack of evidence and remanded the case for retrial. Finally, in August 2005, a Hamburg court re-convicted el Motassadeq and sentenced him to a seven-year prison term. In another case, years of procedural maneuvers were required before the German judicial system finally succeeded in October 2004 in deporting an Islamic extremist, the so-called “caliph of Cologne,” to Turkey. In yet another case, in July 2005 a Syrian-German terrorist suspect was released from custody after the German supreme court ruled that he could not be extradited to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
under a European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
arrest warrant because this step would violate Germany’s Basic Law.
In August 2006, the German government disclosed a botched plot to bomb two German trains. The attack was to occur in July 2006 and involved a 21-year-old Lebanese man, identified only as Youssef Mohammed E. H. Prosecutors said Youssef and another man left suitcases stuffed with crude propane-gas bombs on the trains. The explosives failed to detonate because of a "technical defect," according to the German federal prosecutor. If they had, the police said, a "high number" of passengers would have been killed. Prosecutors said it was likely the would-be bombers were not acting alone and may have been motivated by anger over the war in Lebanon
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War #Other uses|Tammūz]]) and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War , was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon, northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. The principal parties were Hezbollah...
, in which the German government has agreed to play a limited, peacekeeping role. Prosecutors also said Lebanon’s military intelligence agency had offered German authorities "decisive" information that led to Yousef's arrest.http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/world/europe/21cnd-germany.html?ref=world
See also
- Foreign relations of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Law enforcement in GermanyLaw enforcement in GermanyLaw enforcement in Germany is constitutionally vested solely with the states, which is one of the main features of the German political system. Therefore, unlike France, Italy, the United States, Canada or many other countries, Germany has no federal police force comparable to the Italian...
- The Mystery of the German Plot, Terrorism and Security Analysis, Matthew R. McNabb, 23 August 2006.