http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2 <http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=45997&ver sion=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21> &item_no=45997&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21 Nervous bravado in European cities under Qaeda threat <http://www.gulf-times.com/site/images/spacer.gif>
Published: Tuesday, 26 July, 2005, 01:24 PM Doha Time ROME: In European cities on an Al Qaeda Internet hit list, people are showing a mixture of resignation, defiance and nerves. "Sooner or later, it will be our turn," said Italian tourist Iliaria Rambelli who, like many others in the country, believe Italy, a steadfast US ally with 3,000 troops in Iraq, could be the next target of a terror attack. "There was the US, Madrid, London, and yesterday Egypt. We are even more under threat because our government is close to the Bush administration and Britain," she said outside a cafe a few streets from the Vatican and St Peter's Square. Nearby, a 63-year-old pensioner, Paolo, said that he had told his two children to ease off using the bus and subway trains. "And when I look at the basilica of St. Paul's, I always think of the planes from September 11 with a sense of foreboding." European nations were given a "final warning" to pull their troops out of Iraq within a month or face more attacks in an Al Qaeda message on the Internet dated July 16. "It's a message we are addressing to the crusaders who are still present in Iraq - Denmark, the Netherlands, Britain, Italy and those other countries whose troops continue to criss-cross Iraqi territory," it said. After August 15, "there will be no more messages, just actions that will be engraved on the heart of Europe", said the statement, the authenticity of which could not be verified. "These are our last words. The mujahedeen, who are on the lookout, will have other words to say in your capitals." In Denmark, a staunch ally of Washington with more than 500 troops in Iraq as of the end of April, warehouse worker Hastings Smythe was fatalistic. "I cannot waste my time being scared. Either it happens or it does not," said Smythe, one of the few weekend passengers on a Copenhagen subway train. Despite his cool, Smythe admits he keeps "an eye out for any suspicious packages and large backpacks because you never know". "People seem nervous, even if they do not show it." The Netherlands, which withdrew its active troop contingent from Iraq in April, was still named in the Al Qaeda message. "I am not scared. I have to see it to believe it," said tram driver Roland Paesch in Amsterdam. Though transport authorities in the Netherlands have given no special instruction for vigilance, Paesch and his colleagues have been casting a wary eye since the repeat attacks in London. "There is nothing we can do, we have to carry on," he said. "Whatever we do, they (the terrorists) are here, in the city and if they want to do something..." He gestures skywards without finishing the sentence. At the central rail station ticket office in Amsterdam, Milou Heintjes is on the lookout for suspect packages but she "refuses to give in to fear". She says she does not expect an attack but is "aware that we could be the next target". Internet messages signed by Al Qaeda have claimed the blasts on the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh that killed at least 88 people and the two bombing campaigns in London - one that killed 56 people including the four bombers on July 7 and another that seemed to go awry wounding no one on July 21. - AFP [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
