German politicians split on stiffer anti-terrorism laws

    In the wake of an unsuccessful terrorist plot against American targets in Germany, German officials are considering what was once unthinkable: spying on personal computers and other harsh measures that buck up against the German constitution. Proposals to allow security forces to spy on personal computers and to make attendance at an Islamist training camp punishable under German law had a divided response at a conference of state interior ministers in Berlin Sept. 7. The interior ministers, who are responsible for internal security and policing, were meeting after police on Sept. 4 arrested three suspects linked to a bomb plot aimed at causing mass carnage among US citizens living in Germany. Berlin Interior Senator Ehrhart Koerting said opinion was divided among the ministers from the 16 states, although there was unity that people who had undergone paramilitary training at terrorist camps “should be taken out of circulation.”

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