Tuesday, May 13, 2008
With the news that several hijackers studied in Hamburg, Germans throw their support behind Bush, and the tensions of his early months in office melt away -- for now.
Sep 13, 2001 | Americans are not the only ones who have been glued to their television sets since Tuesday's horrific attacks in New York and Washington. All across Europe, TV stations have followed the story nonstop, often forgoing commercials, and a deep sense of horror has taken hold that could make it easier for President Bush to build international support for retaliation.
Many Germans saw Tuesday's events as an attack against them as well, since the terrorist strike was clearly intended as a blow to the West. But Germany's sense of being closely involved with the American drama was heightened Thursday when news broke that three of the men involved in the hijackings lived in Hamburg and may have planned part of the attacks from here in what is being described as a terrorist cell.
Mohammed Atta, the 33-year-old who likely flew American Airlines flight 11, and his cousin, Marvan Al-Shehhi, 23, who was on American Airlines Flight 175, lived in a $500-a-month apartment in Hamburg's Harburg neighborhood, according to the Bild Zeitung newspaper. The two men left Germany in March 2001 for Florida, where they enrolled in flight classes at Huffman Aviation in the Gulf Coast town of Venice. German commandos reportedly stormed eight apartments in Hamburg and arrested one suspect after being tipped off by the FBI Wednesday night.
Atta and Al-Shehhi were enrolled as electrical engineering students at Hamburg-Harburg Technical University, and a third suspect who perished in the Pennsylvania crash is also believed to have studied there. Neighbors quoted on German public television said the suspects lived fairly "anonymously" in their Hamburg neighborhood.
Osama bin Laden, the Saudi exile explicitly named as a suspect Thursday by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, is believed to have ties to operatives in the Hamburg area. But so far officials have been unable to nail down a firm connection between the terrorist mastermind and the men suspected of attacking the U.S.
Even before news broke about Hamburg's apparent role in the events leading up to this week's calamitous developments in New York and Washington, the talk in Europe has mostly been of solidarity with the United States. There's a sense here that what happened in the U.S. was an attack against all of humanity and that no one will be safe in the United States, Europe or anywhere else until the terrorist threat is eliminated.
In fact, some are calling it an attack on Europe, since many European nationals also perished in the destruction. More than 100 Britons have been confirmed dead, and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw estimates the number could rise to the "middle hundreds." Four Germans have been confirmed dead, and the German Foreign Ministry has registered hundreds of missing persons since the tragedy.
People all across Europe had reacted to the news with often dramatic expressions of grief. Thousands have turned up at U.S. embassies to pay their respects. Government leaders have urged people all across Europe to observe three minutes of silence Friday in honor of the thousands who perished on Tuesday.
Flags have been at half-mast at the Reichstag and other federal buildings since shortly after the horrific news hit. Thousands of grief-stricken Germans attended special masses. Even the first night of Berlin's version of Oktoberfest was called off -- and the main event in Munich may also be canceled. The sense of shock may fade in the coming days, but it's doubtful that a reinvigorated sense of solidarity with the United States will.
The fences protecting the blocks surrounding the American Embassy here have been transformed into impromptu memorials, with people laying flowers, candles and cards in front of them. Hundreds waited in line to sign the embassy's official book of condolences.
Some demonstrators carried signs begging the United States not to launch World War III in retaliation. Another pleaded with the U.S. not to take "rash steps." But largely the demonstrators and their signs seemed to be offering unconditional support for America and its victims.
That sentiment has been echoed by European government ministers, most dramatically at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where officials have for the first time invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, saying they are prepared to view this attack on the United States as an attack on all of NATO. The action was taken partly because NATO hopes to be involved with the inevitable military retaliation, so it can help define its terms. But it's also clear that President Bush already has more international support behind him than even his father did in assembling his Gulf War coalition. The sense across Europe is that this is a time for closing ranks swiftly and unmistakably.
"This is an act of solidarity," NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson said. "It's a reaffirmation of a solemn treaty commitment which these countries have entered into."
Of course, Bush could squander that support by overreacting. And some observers caution that even Article 5 doesn't commit specific states to get involved with a U.S. military response. On Thursday, Defense Minister Rudolph Scharping noted that the NATO vote does not mandate that Germany undertake any military action. The U.S. must decide whether it will take retaliatory steps, he said, and Germany can then decide whether it wants to help or not.
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