| German intelligence worries about the convergence of terrorism and crime The conflict in Iraq is on the verge of sliding into uncontrollable chaos, which will further inflame the situation outside the Middle East region as well. This is how the President of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) August Hanning recently assessed the situation in the hottest spot on the planet at a symposium of this agency in Berlin. The meeting of representatives of the German intelligence services was held under the title “Gray War - Globalization of Terrorism and Organized Crime.” Summing up the development of the situation in the Islamic world, the chief of German intelligence officers noted: “I observe a growth in exclusively anti-Western sentiments in Muslim countries.”
So far, attempts to convince people in these states of the benefits of cooperation with the West have not been crowned with success. On the contrary, the fighting in Iraq and the Palestinian territories has only increased the hostility of the local population towards the West and strengthened the popularity of extremists, including Osama bin Laden. This, according to the BND's conclusion, primarily applies to Iraq. Many young Muslims, Mr Hanning stressed, feel resentment towards the West, which "is a breeding ground" for bin Laden. German intelligence is constantly listening to conversations between members of the Bin Laden family. The BND is confident that terrorist number one is alive, although there has been no news of him for a long time.
One of the most dangerous trends, according to Mr. Hanning, is the intensification of the fusion of international terrorism with organized crime. This scourge can only be countered by capturing the “heads and hearts” of people, supporting economic, social and community progress, as well as respecting religious values and traditions. “I am afraid that we have not made much progress in solving these problems,” admitted the BND chief.
The Social Democratic Federal Minister of the Interior, Otto Schili, called for “the greatest possible efforts in the daily fight against terror – perhaps even beyond what has been necessary so far.” Intelligence services, in his opinion, need to increase the level of international information exchange. A serious problem, according to the minister, remains the lack of an unambiguous and generally accepted definition of terrorism. In this regard, in particular, monitoring the global al-Qaeda network is difficult. In addition, the international community does not have a convincing answer to the question of what legal norms apply to persons captured in crisis areas and suspected of involvement in terrorism. Yuri Shpakov, Berlin |
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