Seems the German intelligence is alot better then the American.
Next time if Joschka Fischer asks for proof, then Donald R. should listen
and show his "proof" ;->

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?
tmpl=story&cid=535&ncid=535&e=6&u=/ap/20041203/ap_on_re_eu/germany_iraq

Germany Arrests 3 in Iraqi PM Attack Plot

By TONY CZUCZKA, Associated Press Writer

BERLIN - A flurry of hectic phone calls between Islamic radicals led German
authorities to arrest three Iraqis suspected of planning to attack Iraqi
Prime Minister Ayad Allawi while he visited Germany on Friday.

The three men belong to Ansar al-Islam, which U.S. authorities have linked
to al-Qaida and which has mounted attacks on U.S. and allied forces in Iraq
since last year's U.S.-led invasion of the country, federal prosecutor Kay
Nehm said.

Investigators who had been monitoring the suspects' phone calls and
movements ahead of Allawi's visit concluded there was "evidence of plans of
an attack," chief federal prosecutor Kay Nehm said.

Nehm refused to elaborate on what kind of an attack might have been
planned. Investigators were examining evidence seized in raids of nine
residences and other buildings in Berlin, Stuttgart and Augsburg, he said.

The suspects' phone calls grew more hectic after initial intelligence led
officials to cancel a Thursday night meeting between Allawi and Iraqi
exiles in Berlin, leading police to make the arrests early Friday, Nehm
said.

"From the reactions in the various phone calls to the change in the visit's
schedule, one must conclude that they indicate that something was planned
against the Iraqi prime minister," he said.

"The conversations differed markedly from the usual support activity" for
Ansar al-Islam, he said. "Naturally that made us suspicious."

Berlin police said they were looking for a truck after receiving a vague
tip that it might be linked to the case. Allawi met German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder hours after the arrests amid tight security, then left
Berlin later Friday for Russia.

Ansar al-Islam, which was formed in the Kurdish parts of Iraq, is believed
to include Arab al-Qaida members who fled the U.S.-led invasion of
Afghanistan in late 2002. The group's bases along the Iranian-Iraqi border
were bombed and attacked by Iraqi Kurdish and U.S. forces at the start of
the Iraq war.

Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose followers in Iraq have
claimed responsibility for numerous car bombings and beheadings of
foreigners, including three Americans, is believed to have played a key
role in the group after fleeing Afghanistan.

The United States has offered a $25 million reward for al-Zarqawi's
capture — the same amount as for Osama bin Laden.

Nehm said the suspects, whose names were not released, appeared to have
acted largely on the spur of the moment, seizing the opportunity of
Allawi's visit. Charges of membership in a terrorist organization are being
prepared against the three men, he said.

German authorities have been investigating Ansar al-Islam's activities for
at least a year, and authorities have said the group has about 100
supporters in the country.

Last December, police arrested a 30-year-old Iraqi in Munich, identified
only as Lokman M. Prosecutors allege he helped smuggle Iraqis into Germany
and organized trips to Iraq for possible suicide bombing missions against
U.S. troops.

After talks with Allawi, Schroeder said Germany will seek closer business
ties with Iraq as the country's reconstruction advances.

Schroeder, whose government strongly opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq and
has ruled out sending troops, offered to expand Germany's training of Iraqi
police and soldiers in the United Arab Emirates.

He also offered to train Iraqi ordnance disposal experts in Germany.

"Both of us are convinced that there is no point in talking about the past
and that we must focus our energy on building a democratic, stable Iraq —
regardless of how one viewed the war in Iraq," Schroeder told reporters.

German companies were involved in Iraq for decades before the war that
toppled Saddam Hussein.

Allawi thanked Germany for its postwar help.

"As the political process will mature in Iraq, we will hopefully get more
and more cooperation with Germany and Europe," he said.











On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 14:57:52 -0500, Brice Yokem <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>This one is a bit dated, but still pretty good
>
>It seems that all of those secret police guys in East Germany won't be
>jobless for long. Most of the field agents have been snapped up by cab
>companies, since they know their areas so well, and the desk workers have
>been hired as dispatchers. The neat thing about the new dispatchers is that
>all they need is the name of the customer and they can give the cabbies the
>address.
>
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