Letnik 9/2, september 2007 - Slovenska vojska

Ralf Klewin-von Fintel
and developing threat situation, as assessed by German politicians and security
organizations in the European context already in previous years I think I can say
at this juncture that the latter is closest to the truth. Although they apply only to the
Federal Ministry of Defence’s area of responsibility, the Defence Policy Guidelines
[Verteidigungspolitische Richtlinien] of May 2003 contain a chapter entitled
“German Security: Risks and Opportunities”, which already clearly emphasizes
that 9/11 and the subsequent terrorist attacks have heightened the awareness that
asymmetric threats may occur at any time and anywhere in the world, and may be
directed against anyone 6 . Furthermore, the European Security Strategy, which was
enacted at the European level in December 2003, puts terrorism at the top of its
list of key threats to European security, due to its status as an increasing strategic
threat to Europe, ahead of organized crime, state failure, regional conflicts and the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It states, inter alia, that: “...Europe
is both a target and a base for such terrorism: European countries are targets and
have been attacked. Logistical bases for al-Qaeda cells have been uncovered in the
United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Spain and Belgium. Concerted European action
is indispensable. 7 ” The Security Strategy also gives serious consideration to what
is undoubtedly the most frightening scenario, namely that terrorist groups could
acquire weapons of mass destruction. At this stage, I believe that the question
raised in the interview quoted at the beginning of this paper can already be given
a clear answer. Irreconcilable differences most certainly do not exist in the US and
German assessments of the threat posed by terrorism. In the following remarks, I
will consider this assertion in more detail by endeavoring to address the question of
the German threat assessment of terrorism in Germany.
A G E R M A N T H R E AT A S S E S S M E N T
The German Federal Ministry of the Interior stated unequivocally in May 2005
that Islamist extremism and terrorism pose the most significant threat to internal
security both globally and within Germany 8 . Germany’s internal security was and
6
German Federal Ministry of Defence, Verteidigungspolitische Richtlinien für den Geschäftsbereich des Bundesministeriums
der Verteidigung [Defence Policy Guidelines for the Area of Responsibility of the Ministry of
Defence], Berlin, May 21, 2003, p.6.
7
EU, A Secure Europe in a Better World. European Security Strategy, Brussels, 2003, p.3.
8
See German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Verfassungsschutzbericht 2004 [2004 Report on the Protection of
the Constitution], Berlin, 2005, pp.3f.
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