What: Arrests are made in connection with planned terrorist attacks.

Where: Germany

When: September 5, 2007

How: Police say that there are ten more "terror plotters" still being sought in connection with the alleged plot.

Brief Analysis: Three men - terrorists - were arrested on suspicion of plotting to kill hundreds of people in German bars, airports, and restaurants where Americans are known to frequent. "They were motivated by hatred of America," according to Jorg Ziercke, president of the Federal Criminal Investigation Agency, quoted through an article in the Times (Boyes, 2007). The police believe that these terrorists were planning on using 750 kilos of hydrogen peroxide to blow up restaurants, bars, and facilities in the airport in Berlin. The real story behind the arrests (besides the fact that an estimate ten more terrorists who were part of this "cell" are being hunted) is that this was a "home-grown" operation in Germany. And moreover, there are apparently a growing number of Germans who are converting to the Muslim religion in Germany. The three men who were arrested on September 5...

Investigators in Germany believe that radical young Muslim converts "tend to be more radical and fanatical than those who have been Muslims since they were in the cradle," according to Hans Joachim Giessman, an expert in terrorism at Hamburg institute for Peace Research. The bottom line for law enforcement officials in Europe and the U.S. is that good advance police work and intelligence gathering can prevent disastrous bombing and killings by terrorists determined to kill Westerners, in particular, Americans.
Works Cited

Boyes, Roger. (2007, September 6). Ten Terror Plotters Still on the Run in Germany.

The Times Online, Retrieved September 6, 2007, at http://www.timesonline.co.uk.

Mazzetti, Mark. (2007, August 7). A Spy Chief's Political Education. The New York Times,

Retrieved September 6, 2007, at http://www.nytimes.com.