Three syrians arrested in Germany

Original post by alevelstresss

I expect him to explain some serious failings in our security services

You wouldn't expect someone to perpetrate a simple human error, a department or team to be overwhelmed by the numbers of plots, or for a terrorist cell to be especially competent and to evade detection by even the best security service, then? It has to be a serious failing, does it?

Perhaps they spend too much time making the false assumption that these people are inspired by Islamic teachings, and should be looking more at the people who have relatives who have died of cancer?

Reply 44

Original post by Good bloke

You wouldn't expect someone to perpetrate a simple human error, a department or team to be overwhelmed by the numbers of plots, or for a terrorist cell to be especially competent and to evade detection by even the best security service, then? It has to be a serious failing, does it?

Perhaps they spend too much time making the false assumption that these people are inspired by Islamic teachings, and should be looking more at the people who have relatives who have died of cancer?

They should look at people who have IS sympathy, not a loyalty to Islam or having personal trauma.

Reply 45

BaconandSauce

5

So back to the OP

It seems we do not know what they were going to attack and how they were going to carry it out but it does seem they are linked to the Paris attack

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37349040

Reply 46

Original post by alevelstresss

They should look at people who have IS sympathy,

But how do they detect those people if they are in a sleeper cell? They can't look at immigrants as a starting point as that generalises all immigrants as terrorists; or Moslems, as that is Islamophobic. We can't close the borders as that is not a humane response. And you have already stated it would be a major failing if they didn't stop all the attacks before they happened. So what is your suggestion?

Reply 47

Original post by Good bloke

But how do they detect those people if they are in a sleeper cell? They can't look at immigrants as a starting point as that generalises all immigrants as terrorists; or Moslems, as that is Islamophobic. We can't close the borders as that is not a humane response. And you have already stated it would be a major failing if they didn't stop all the attacks before they happened. So what is your suggestion?

Evidently they just did in Germany. Its not that hard to speculate on potential strategies. Follow up people who have vented an active interest in purchasing weapons off the black market, set up fake dealers, monitor them and their activity. Or tap their phones and track them, as they just did with this specific case in Germany (read the BBC article).

Its easy to talk about the few attacks which get through, but there have been at least three almost "Paris-style" attacks or attacks of equivalent magnitude stopped by police in the last 6 months.

For other things, like the Nice attack, that is harder to prevent. Anyone can rent a truck. So to tackle this we simply need to destroy ISIS and their online presence, this is slowly being done by coalition forces and Turkey and Russia, but we need better online policing. Anyone who starts openly venting support for terrorists or ISIS on social media should be monitored, many of these terrorists who commit these atrocities do openly communicate their sympathies in the run up to an attack.

Reply 48

Original post by alevelstresss

tap their phones and track them, as they just did with this specific case in Germany

You can only do that after you have started to suspect them, and sleeper cells do not have an online presence giving them away.

Reply 49

Tcannon

18

The presence of Syrian IS sleeper cells in Germany is no big surprise. Last year, the German security service Bundesverfassungsschutz warned about this threat when Merkel opened Germany's borders to all refugees. IS terrorists will use the Balkan route to get to Western Europe. The security experts were ignored.

If one reads German social media, many Germans are anxious about terror threat of trained IS operatives. Some politicians and media try to manage public opinion and still advocate open door and Merkel's refugee policy. Clearly, not only doctors, engineers, intellectuals among the refugees. The German public has developed a disconnect with main party politicians and vote for protest party AfD.

There are German state elections and CDU got hammered in Mecklenburg last week with only 19%. Berlin will vote this Sunday. Another thought came to my mind when the BBC showed the accommodations of arrested IS suspects. They live in lovely and well build houses, certainly nicer buildings than in my neighbourhood. Free housing, board, safety and what does Germany get in return? Some Germans complain that there is always funding for refugees but severe cuts to German welfare. Go figure!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 50

Original post by Good bloke

You can only do that after you have started to suspect them, and sleeper cells do not have an online presence giving them away.

Did you read this article? This was a 'sleeper cell', and they did exactly that.

Reply 51

MrsSheldonCooper

20

Oh how surprising didn't see that one coming!

Reply 52

Original post by alevelstresss

Did you read this article? This was a 'sleeper cell', and they did exactly that.

I have. It was s sleeper cell, and the article does not say the cell had an online presence, merely that their phones were tapped. It makes no mention of how suspicions were aroused to prompt the phone monitoring.

Reply 53