Cable Viewer

Currently released so far... 4006 / 251,287

### Articles

Brazil Sri Lanka United Kingdom Sweden Editorial United States Latin America Egypt Yemen Jordan

### Browse latest releases

2010/11 2010/12 2011/01 2011/02
2010/11/28 2010/11/29 2010/11/30
2010/12/01 2010/12/02 2010/12/03 2010/12/04 2010/12/05 2010/12/06 2010/12/07 2010/12/08 2010/12/09 2010/12/10 2010/12/11 2010/12/12 2010/12/13 2010/12/14 2010/12/15 2010/12/16 2010/12/17 2010/12/18 2010/12/19 2010/12/20 2010/12/21 2010/12/22 2010/12/23 2010/12/24 2010/12/25 2010/12/26 2010/12/27 2010/12/28 2010/12/29 2010/12/30
2011/01/01 2011/01/02 2011/01/04 2011/01/05 2011/01/07 2011/01/09 2011/01/10 2011/01/11 2011/01/12 2011/01/13 2011/01/14 2011/01/15 2011/01/16 2011/01/17 2011/01/18 2011/01/19 2011/01/20 2011/01/21 2011/01/22 2011/01/23 2011/01/24 2011/01/25 2011/01/26 2011/01/27 2011/01/28 2011/01/29 2011/01/30 2011/01/31
2011/02/01 2011/02/02 2011/02/03 2011/02/04 2011/02/05 2011/02/06 2011/02/07 2011/02/08 2011/02/09 2011/02/10 2011/02/11 2011/02/12

### Browse by creation date

66 72 73 75 79 86 88 89 90 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
1966/12
1972/02 1972/08
1973/04
1975/03
1979/08
1986/05
1988/01
1989/12
1990/01 1990/07 1990/08
2000/06 2000/09 2000/11
2001/02 2001/03 2001/07 2001/10
2002/02 2002/03 2002/11
2003/03 2003/04 2003/05 2003/06 2003/07 2003/08 2003/09 2003/10 2003/11 2003/12
2004/01 2004/02 2004/03 2004/04 2004/05 2004/06 2004/07 2004/08 2004/09 2004/10 2004/11 2004/12
2005/01 2005/02 2005/03 2005/04 2005/05 2005/06 2005/07 2005/08 2005/09 2005/10 2005/11 2005/12
2006/01 2006/02 2006/03 2006/04 2006/05 2006/06 2006/07 2006/08 2006/09 2006/10 2006/11 2006/12
2007/01 2007/02 2007/03 2007/04 2007/05 2007/06 2007/07 2007/08 2007/09 2007/10 2007/11 2007/12
2008/01 2008/02 2008/03 2008/04 2008/05 2008/06 2008/07 2008/08 2008/09 2008/10 2008/11 2008/12
2009/01 2009/02 2009/03 2009/04 2009/05 2009/06 2009/07 2009/08 2009/09 2009/10 2009/11 2009/12
2010/01 2010/02

### Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Embassy Athens Embassy Asuncion Embassy Astana Embassy Asmara Embassy Ashgabat Embassy Ankara Embassy Amman Embassy Algiers Embassy Addis Ababa Embassy Accra Embassy Abuja Embassy Abu Dhabi Embassy Abidjan Consulate Amsterdam American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura Embassy Buenos Aires Embassy Budapest Embassy Bucharest Embassy Brussels Embassy Bridgetown Embassy Bratislava Embassy Brasilia Embassy Bogota Embassy Bishkek Embassy Bern Embassy Berlin Embassy Belgrade Embassy Beirut Embassy Beijing Embassy Banjul Embassy Bangkok Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan Embassy Bamako Embassy Baku Embassy Baghdad Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen Embassy Conakry Embassy Colombo Embassy Chisinau Embassy Caracas Embassy Canberra Embassy Cairo Consulate Curacao Consulate Casablanca Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe Embassy Dublin Embassy Doha Embassy Djibouti Embassy Dhaka Embassy Dar Es Salaam Embassy Damascus Embassy Dakar Consulate Dubai
Embassy Freetown
Embassy Guatemala Embassy Gaborone
Embassy Harare Embassy Hanoi Consulate Hamburg
Iran RPO Dubai Embassy Islamabad Consulate Istanbul
Embassy Jakarta Consulate Jerusalem Consulate Jeddah
Embassy Kyiv Embassy Kuwait Embassy Kuala Lumpur Embassy Kinshasa Embassy Kigali Embassy Khartoum Embassy Kampala Embassy Kabul
Embassy Luxembourg Embassy Luanda Embassy London Embassy Lisbon Embassy Lima Embassy Lilongwe Embassy La Paz Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO Embassy Muscat Embassy Moscow Embassy Montevideo Embassy Monrovia Embassy Minsk Embassy Mexico Embassy Maputo Embassy Manama Embassy Managua Embassy Malabo Embassy Madrid Consulate Munich Consulate Montreal Consulate Monterrey
Embassy New Delhi Embassy Nassau Embassy Nairobi Consulate Naples
Embassy Ouagadougou Embassy Ottawa Embassy Oslo
Embassy Pristina Embassy Pretoria Embassy Prague Embassy Port Au Prince Embassy Phnom Penh Embassy Paris Embassy Paramaribo Embassy Panama Consulate Peshawar
Embassy Quito
REO Basrah Embassy Rome Embassy Riyadh Embassy Riga Embassy Reykjavik Embassy Rangoon Embassy Rabat Consulate Rio De Janeiro Consulate Recife
Secretary of State Embassy Stockholm Embassy Sofia Embassy Skopje Embassy Singapore Embassy Seoul Embassy Sarajevo Embassy Santo Domingo Embassy Santiago Embassy Sanaa Embassy San Salvador Embassy San Jose Consulate Strasbourg Consulate Shenyang Consulate Shanghai Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis Embassy Tripoli Embassy Tokyo Embassy The Hague Embassy Tel Aviv Embassy Tehran Embassy Tegucigalpa Embassy Tbilisi Embassy Tashkent Embassy Tallinn
USUN New York USEU Brussels US Mission Geneva US Interests Section Havana US Delegation, Secretary UNVIE Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius Embassy Vienna Embassy Vatican Consulate Vladivostok
Embassy Windhoek Embassy Wellington Embassy Warsaw
Embassy Yerevan Embassy Yaounde
Embassy Zagreb

### Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ASEC AR AJ AE AEMR AF AMGT APER AG AM AS AU AORC AGMT AFIN ABUD ATRN ACOA AEC AO AX AMED ADCO AODE AFFAIRS AC AL ASIG ABLD AA AFU ASUP AROC ATFN AVERY
BU BM BEXP BR BRUSSELS BL BK BA BO BILAT BTIO BH BE BX BIDEN BY BG BF BB BC BBSR
CH CU CJAN CMGT CVIS CO CA CE COUNTER CASC CBW CG CLINTON CI CDG CIA CACM CDB CS CD CV CF CN CAN CIS CM CONDOLEEZZA COE CR CY CTM COUNTRY CLEARANCE CPAS CWC CT CKGR CB CACS COM CJUS CARSON COUNTERTERRORISM
DJ DA DEAX DR DHS DOE DEA DK DISENGAGEMENT DS DOD
EINV ECON ENRG EPET ETRD EAGR ELAB EUN EFIN EU EAID EIND ETTC EG ECPS EWWT ES EXTERNAL EMIN ECIP EINDETRD EN EZ ER ET EUC EI EAIR ELTN EREL ECIN EFIS EINT EC ENVR ECA ELN EINVETC ENIV EINN ENGR EUR ESA ENERG EK ELECTIONS ECUN EINVEFIN
FR FJ FINR FAO FTAA FREEDOM FI FARC FBI FMLN
GM GZ GG GTMO GOI GV GH GA GE GT GR GTIP GCC GAZA
HO HURI HILLARY HA HU HR HUMAN HYMPSK HK
IR IS IZ IN IT INRB IAEA ID IO IV ICTY IQ ICAO INTERPOL IPR IRAJ INRA INRO IC IIP ITPHUM IWC ISRAELI IRAQI ICRC IMO IF ILC IEFIN INTELSAT IL IA IBRD IMF ITALY ITALIAN
JAMES JA JO JOSEPH JP JOHNNIE JUS
KISL KCRM KCOR KDEM KPAO KG KTIP KICC KNNP KV KBCT KPAL KTFN KU KSPR KJUS KHLS KTIA KWBG KMDR KGHG KN KUNR KS KIRF KFRD KIPR KAWC KPWR KCIP KSUM KWAC KMIG KOLY KZ KAWK KSEC KIFR KDRG KDEMAF KFIN KGIC KOMC KGCC KPIN KBIO KHIV KSCA KE KPKO KNUC KPLS KIRC KACT KRAD KCOM KMCA KHDP KVPR KDEV KWMN KPRP KCFE KOCI KTDB KMRS KLIG KGIT KSTC KPAK KNEI KSEP KPOA KFLU KNUP KNNPMNUC KO KTER KHUM KRFD KBTR KDDG KWWMN KFLO KSAF KBTS KPRV KMPI KNPP KNAR KWMM KERG KTBT KCRS KRVC KR
LY LG LE LH LU LI LO LOG LT
MCAP MO MNUC MARR MASS MPOS MOPS MAR MD MZ MY MEPP MA MR ML MX MIL MTCRE MOPPS MTCR MAPP MU MG MASC MCC MK MTRE MP MDC MEPI MRCRE MI MT MQADHAFI MAPS MUCN
NATO NI NZ NG NU NO NL NIPP NPT NE NS NAR NPG NK NSG NA NT NASA NGO NP NATIONAL
OVIP OTRA OPRC OSCI OTR OVP OREP ODIP OPDC OIIP OFFICIALS OSAC OAS OEXC OFDP OSCE OPIC OECD OPCW
PGOV PHUM PROP PINR PBTS PREL PTER PE PO PBIO PARM PECON PINS PM PHSA PK PREF PL PAK PINT POGOV PINL POL PSOE PKFK PGOF PARMS PA PMIL PTERE PF PALESTINIAN PY PGGV PNR POV PAO PFOR PHALANAGE PARTY PNAT PROV PEL PGOVE POLINT POLITICS PEPR PSI PU POLITICAL PARTIES
QA
RS RU RO RW REGION RP RIGHTS RICE ROBERT RF RFE
SOCI SP STEINBERG SN SA SY SNAR SMIG SO SENV SCUL SR SF SG SW SU SL SHUM SZ SYR ST SANC SC SAN SIPRS SK SH SI
TU TI TX TS TW TC TERRORISM TPHY TRGY TIP TBIO TSPA TH TR TT TO TFIN TD TSPL TZ TK TNGD
UK UZ UNMIK UN US UG UNSC UP USEU UV UY UNGA UNO USUN UE UNESCO UAE UNEP USTR UNHCR UNDP UNHRC USAID UNCHS UNAUS
VE VZ VT VTPREL VN VM
WI WTRO WTO WA WMO WTRQ WHO WWARD WB WBG
XF XA XG XT XM XR XS XL XK XH XY XC XZ XW XD
YI YM YE
ZP ZR ZI ZU ZB ZF ZK ZANU ZOELLICK ZA

### Browse by classification

CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN SECRET SECRET//NOFORN UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

### Community resources

Follow us on Twitter Check our Reddit Twitter this Digg this page Contact us on IRC

courage is contagious

### Viewing cable 07BERLIN1767, TERRORISM ARRESTS DEMONSTRATE THREAT OF HOMEGROWN

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:

- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.

To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #07BERLIN1767.

Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
07BERLIN1767 | 2007-09-19 10:10 | 2010-12-08 21:09 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Berlin

`

    VZCZCXRO1818
    PP RUEHAG RUEHROV
    DE RUEHRL #1767/01 2621047
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    P 191047Z SEP 07
    FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9307
    INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
    RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUEAHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
    RUEFHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 001767

    SIPDIS

    STATE FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/PGI AND S/CT
    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2017
    TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL KHLS KJUS GM
    SUBJECT: TERRORISM ARRESTS DEMONSTRATE THREAT OF HOMEGROWN
    ISLAMIC EXTREMISM

    REF: A. BERLIN 1681
    ¶B. BERLIN 1398
    ¶C. MUNICH 218

    Classified By: DCM John M. Koenig for Reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

    Summary

    ¶1. (C) The September 4 arrests of three terrorist suspects,
    two of whom are German citizens who converted to Islam, has
    given Germany its first high-profile case of homegrown
    Islamic terrorism and focused attention on the southern
    German area of Ulm/Neu-Ulm, which authorities have long
    identified as a hotbed of radical Islam. The arrests of
    Gelowicz and Schneider, both ethnic Germans and life-long
    residents of Germany, have changed public perceptions
    concerning the threat of Islamic extremism in Germany and
    raised questions within political circles as to what
    potential measures should be taken to more closely monitor
    extremists. Furthermore, the news that the three suspects
    received instructions from Pakistan-based Islamic Jihad Union
    (IJU) leadership has generated a new awareness and
    recognition of the need to increase surveillance capabilities
    as well as enhance cooperation with international partners.
    The Interior and Justice Ministries are preparing legislation
    to strengthen the capabilities of prosecutors and increase
    the investigative powers of security officials to counter the
    homegrown terrorist threat. End Summary

    Germany's First Homegrown Islamic Terrorists
    --------------------------------------------

    ¶2. (U) The September 4 arrests of three suspects planning
    large-scale attacks in Germany has sent shockwaves through
    Germany, given that two of the alleged terrorists, Fritz
    Gelowicz and Daniel Martin Schneider, were German citizens
    with non-immigrant backgrounds who converted to Islam as
    teenagers (Ref A). Previous terrorist cases over recent
    history have typically involved individuals with immigrant
    backgrounds and/or dual nationalities who were generally
    raised as Muslims from birth. Although there has been at
    least one previous instance in which a German convert has
    taken up arms in the cause of Islam (e.g., Thomas "Hamza"
    Fischer who died fighting in Chechnya in 2003), the current
    case is the first in which such converts were planning their
    attacks on German soil against German (and U.S.) targets.

    ¶3. (U) Media coverage and editorials immediately following
    the arrests have expressed shock at how Gelowicz and
    Schneider, who had been raised in unremarkable typical German
    circumstances, managed to adopt an Islamic extremist ideology
    and plan violence against their fellow citizens. There has
    been much hand-wringing and anxious speculation on how many
    other potential homegrown terrorists in Germany might be
    planning similar attacks. A poll (by the national polling
    firm Emnid) taken shortly following the arrests indicated
    that 85 percent of the public believe the threat of terrorist
    attacks in Germany has increased. This same poll showed that
    56 percent of the public believe a strengthening of security
    legislation is the best response to the new threat.

    ¶4. (U) As the arrests have highlighted the homegrown
    terrorist threat, there have been calls for government
    monitoring of German converts to Islam, who number in the
    thousands each year. Though not likely to see the
    legislative light of day (see Septel), this proposal is a
    reaction to the perception that converts often tend to be
    more zealous believers in their new faith compared to those
    born into the religion. Minister Schaeuble, who leads the
    Federal government's "German Islam Conference" initiative,
    which attempts to promote an intercultural dialogue with the
    Muslim community, commented that "One thing is certain:
    fighting the abuse of Islam and exaggerated fundamentalism
    is, above all, a task for the Muslims themselves."

    Ulm/Neu-Ulm - Centers of Radicalization
    ---------------------------------------

    ¶5. (U) The Federal Prosecutors Office has identified a number
    of German cities as centers of Islamic associations and
    potential sites for extremism, including Ulm, Neu-Ulm,
    Braunschweig, Cologne, Berlin and Muenster. Of these, the
    neighboring cities of Ulm and Neu-Ulm have figured the most

    BERLIN 00001767 002 OF 003

    prominently over the past decade as breeding grounds for
    Islamic extremists. Ulm, a mid-sized city (population
    120,000) in Germany's relatively conservative southern state
    of Baden-Wuerttemberg, is a leading center for scientific
    research and birthplace of Albert Einstein. Ulm was rated as
    Germany's most healthy city by the health-oriented magazine
    "Healthy Living" in a nationwide survey last month. Neu-Ulm
    (population 51,000) is located on the eastern side of the
    Danube river in Bavaria.

    ¶6. (U) The cities received an influx of Muslim refugees from
    Bosnia in the mid 1990s, adding to their existing Muslim
    communities which came mainly from Turkey. Despite their
    traditionally moderate take on Islam, Bosnian Muslims
    developed ties with international extremists who were often
    viewed as the first to respond in Bosnia's hour of need.
    During the 1990s, the region was seen as a staging point for
    Muslim extremist fighters going to Bosnia. More recently,
    Ulm and Neu-Ulm have both hosted organizations that have
    played central roles in Germany's radical Islamist spheres.

    ¶7. (C) The Multicultural House (MCH) in Neu-Ulm was founded
    in 1996 and in the nine years that it was open attracted a
    series of noteworthy individuals and Islamic extremists
    including:

    -- Mahmoud Salim, Osama Bin Laden's chief of financial
    operations who visited in September 1998.

    -- Reda Seyam, alleged to be one of the planners of the Bali
    attacks of 12 October 2002.

    -- Dr. Yehia Yousif, an Egyptian who first came to Germany in
    1988 as a researcher but later became a jihad recruiter and
    hate preacher who took on a leading role at the MCH. Yousif
    left Germany in 2002 as investigations of his activities
    increased. Yousif's oldest son, who is alleged to have spent
    time in a Pakistan terrorist training camp, was deported
    after investigators found bomb-making instruction manuals in
    his apartment.

    -- Khaled al-Masri was a visitor to the MCH.

    -- Mohammed Atta, one of the 9/11 terrorist pilots, is
    reported to have visited the MCH.

    -- Fritz Gelowicz is reported to have been a frequent visitor
    of the MCH.

    ¶8. (C) Following prolonged observation and investigation,
    Bavarian officials finally closed the MCH on 28 December 2005
    and banned it on grounds that it promoted activities hostile
    to the constitution. Bavarian authorities indicate that MCH
    members had used the facility as a recruiting station for
    global jihad and distribution source of extremist literature.
    The ban was subsequently confirmed by the courts in January
    2007 (Ref C).

    ¶9. (C) The Islamic Information Center (IIC), founded in 1999
    and located in Ulm, has developed into a center of extremist
    activity particularly following the closure of the MCH.
    Given its location in a different federal state,
    Baden-Wuerrtemberg security officials monitoring the IIC have
    needed to overcome coordination issues with their
    counterparts in Bavaria to ensure that extremists cannot
    escape observations by merely crossing the Danube river.
    Baden-Wuerttemberg authorities have listed the IIC as an
    extremist center since 2003. Fritz Gelowicz is reported to
    have joined the center in 2005 under the name Abdullah after
    following an introduction by his co-worker Tolga Duerbin.

    ¶10. (C) Authorities searched the IIC in conjunction with the
    September 4 arrests and hope that materials collected will
    enable them to close the center. Baden-Wuerrtemberg Minister
    of Interior Heribert Rech commented that he is confident that
    these materials will be sufficient to close the IIZ
    permanently. Ulm's mayor has also expressed the desire to
    close the center.

    Links to International Networks
    -------------------------------

    ¶11. (C) All three of the terrorist suspects arrested

    BERLIN 00001767 003 OF 003

    September 4 are believed to have trained in Islamic Jihad
    Union (IJU) camps in Pakistan, and shortly following the
    arrests IJU leadership issued a statement confirming that the
    three had indeed been operating under IJU direction. The
    confirmation of this connection between an overseas terrorist
    organization and the Germany-based suspects demonstrates that
    the terrorist threat to Germany had reached a new level.
    Previous Islamic terrorism cases in Germany have not reached
    this level of sophistication and organization.

    ¶12. (C) The arrests in Pakistan and subsequent deportations
    back to Germany of multiple German citizens, or those with
    German residency permission, in the past few months has
    proven just how potentially widespread the links are between
    Germany-based Islamic extremists and overseas terrorist
    leadership. Some of these individuals, such as Tolga
    Duerbin, have been arrested on their return to Germany while
    others, such as Aleem Nasir and Nihad C., have been permitted
    to remain free. In any case terrorist training camp
    returnees are cause for concern among security officials.

    Government Responses
    --------------------

    ¶13. (U) In a September 16 interview Minister Schaeuble summed
    up how the arrests had changed the political debate, saying:
    "We now know better than before that we are very much in the
    focus of Islamist terrorists." Since the arrests, Schaeuble
    has increased his calls for quick cabinet agreement on a
    number of legislative proposals to enhance the powers of the
    Federal Criminal Police (BKA) in counterterrorism
    investigations, as well as to permit the surveillance of the
    computers of terrorism suspects (Ref B). This proposal for
    on-line computer investigations has been particularly
    controversial due to privacy concerns but Schaeuble has
    remained adamant, stating "We will not submit a BKA bill
    without including the option of on-line searches."

    ¶14. (U) Separately, the Justice Ministry has drafted a
    proposal that would significantly increase prosecutorial
    powers aimed at those who train in foreign terrorist camps as
    well as permit authorities to take earlier action against
    those in the planning stages of a terrorist attacik (see
    Septel for analysis).

    ¶15. (U) This cable has been coordinated and developed jointly
    with Consulates General Munich and Frankfurt.
    TIMKEN JR

`