Germans Brace For Al Qaeda Attacks Prior To September Elections

Apparently, al Qaeda is going to try to repeat the success it had in the Madrid bombings in directly altering a political election - this time they are focusing on the German elections that will take place in September. German intelligence is reporting that Germans are targets prior to the election all over the world and that attacks inside of Germany are also a real possibility.

Here's some of the details from the article at Spiegel:

German intelligence agencies believe al-Qaida is planning attacks on Germans abroad and possibly in Germany ahead of the September 27 general election as revenge for Germany's military mission in Afghanistan and to put pressure on Berlin to withdraw its forces, SPIEGEL has learned.

The assessment is based on a warning by the US government that the leadership of al-Qaida in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan has decided to attack Germany, and that the North African branch of al-Qaida -- al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghreb -- has been tasked with carrying it out. Germany's domestic intelligence agency (the Office for the Protection of the Constitution) and the BKA Federal Criminal Police Office believe that German company offices in Algeria and German citizens across North Africa are especially at risk.
But authorities are also warning about possible attacks on German soil. The BKA has sent an updated risk assessment to all regional authorities in Germany. The Germans regard Al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghreb as particularly dangerous because it consists mainly of Tunisians and Algerians who have manifold contacts throughout Western Europe. But it's unclear how well organized the group is outside North Africa.

A couple of things here: first, I'm confused...didn't al Qaeda listen in to Barack Hussein Obama's speech in Cairo? Don't they realize that the West is so, so sorry for all of the transgressions against the muslims of the world and so we all need to gather in a nice big park and share a day of picnics and volleyball?

Second, this threat is also very reminiscient of the Madrid bombing campaign in that, at the time, Spain was not much of a military factor in the Iraq War - they had a minimal force there but al Qaeda targeted them because of the symbolism. If al Qaeda could get Spain to change governments via an election tainted by a huge terror attack, they surmised that many other coalition countries would follow suit. Well, the same is true of Germany's role in the War in Afghanistan. The Germans have a minimal force backing up NATO and since day one, the Germans have been relegated to the norther part of Afghanistan which is by far the most quiet region of the country. My point here is this - the Germans have had probably the least impact on the Taliban when you compare them to the U.S., France, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

But al Qaeda probably sees some chinks in the NATO resolve in several of those countries I just listed and hopes terror attacks changing the landscape of the German elections will create a domino effect.

Germany Warns of al-Qaida Attacks Before September Election

German intelligence agencies believe al-Qaida is planning attacks on Germans abroad and possibly in Germany ahead of the September 27 general election as revenge for Germany's military mission in Afghanistan and to put pressure on Berlin to withdraw its forces, SPIEGEL has learned.

The assessment is based on a warning by the US government that the leadership of al-Qaida in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan has decided to attack Germany, and that the North African branch of al-Qaida -- al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghreb -- has been tasked with carrying it out. Germany's domestic intelligence agency (the Office for the Protection of the Constitution) and the BKA Federal Criminal Police Office believe that German company offices in Algeria and German citizens across North Africa are especially at risk.
But authorities are also warning about possible attacks on German soil. The BKA has sent an updated risk assessment to all regional authorities in Germany. The Germans regard Al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghreb as particularly dangerous because it consists mainly of Tunisians and Algerians who have manifold contacts throughout Western Europe. But it's unclear how well organized the group is outside North Africa.
German authorities have started warning German companies with operations in the region and are making business people aware of the risks of being kidnapped by al-Qaida activists.
In April, Marianne P. a German national, was released after being held hostage for several months in Mali after the government there agreed to release an al-Qaida member from jail. The BKA and German security services believe that future hostage takings won't have such a lenient outcome following the new instructions from al-Qaida -- and that kidnappings may be linked to unacceptable political demands, such as the withdrawal of German troops from Afghanistan.
The new assessment is in keeping with the high number of videos from Afghanistan attacking German government policy. At the end of last week, a new propaganda film by the Islamic Jihad Union emerged and threatened attacks. In early 2009, Bonn-based Islamist Bekkay Harrach, who has gone underground in Afghanistan, threatened attacks on Germany. Harrach is believed to play an important role in al-Qaida.