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Viewing cable 09DUSSELDORF38, STEPPED-UP SECURITY IN NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA; TAKING THE

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09DUSSELDORF38 2009-09-25 14:08 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Dusseldorf
VZCZCXRO4538
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDF #0038 2681408
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251408Z SEP 09
FM AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0236
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDF/AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 0252
UNCLAS DUSSELDORF 000038 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER ASEC GM
SUBJECT: STEPPED-UP SECURITY IN NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA; TAKING THE 
THREAT SERIOUSLY 
 
REF: A. A.  BERLIN 862 
     B. B.  BERLIN 1172 
 
1.  (U) Security has been further ratcheted up in North 
Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) as a result of the pre- and 
post-Bundestag election alerts.  Armored personnel carriers and 
stepped up armed police presence are in evidence at airports, 
and there is a visible increase in police presence at the 
Duesseldorf main train station as well.  The combination of the 
Al Qa'eda videos and the U.S. travel alert have caught people's 
attention, though contacts in NRW government and out, including 
in the Muslim community, tell us the clear attempt to manipulate 
the vote will not work.  They take it seriously - even if the 
overt security presence makes them uncomfortable - saying that 
to date, Germany has been fortunate; that good luck may not last 
forever. 
 
 
 
2. (SBU) Police contacts in NRW have confirmed to us the ramped 
up security.  As of Thursday evening, September 24, they have 
placed 24-hour surveillance on all those who had previously been 
under general surveillance, using a variety of means.  They told 
us on September 25 that, at this point, this would likely 
continue indefinitely.  Many squad cars are now making their 
rounds with machine guns on the inside, though not visible to 
the public.  Leave plans for a variety of police agencies have 
been cancelled or postponed.  Their sense - because of our 
travel alert - is that the "U.S. knows more than we do." 
 
 
 
3. (U) The story grabbed headlines in major NRW dailies. 
Duesseldorf's Rheinische Post's front page story, "Terror 
Warning for Germany," quoted NRW Interior Minister Wolf as 
saying they were taking the threat very seriously, that security 
forces were working very professionally on heightened alert.  He 
referred to the videos as an attempt to sow fear in advance of 
Sunday's Bundestag elections and influence the vote, adding that 
"We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated."  Cologne's 
Kvlner Stadt-Anzeiger article noted that one couldn't post APCs 
and armed security personnel at airports and train stations and 
then describe the U.S. travel alert as inappropriate.  The piece 
recalled the 2004 Madrid bombings, which killed 191, came 
shortly before Spain's parliamentary election, contributing to 
the defeat of the conservatives and the accelerated pullout of 
Spain's troops from Iraq.  The paper also carried a chilling 
expose on Bekkay Harrach, the speaker in the Al Qa'eda videos, 
who spent years in Bonn. 
 
 
 
4. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
 
WEINER