German Press Review: The Roots of Terror

Still reeling from the terrorist attacks on international and Jewish targets in Casablanca, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, writes that such bloody incidents are no coincidence at a time when there have been renewed efforts for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. It makes no difference, which group carried out the attack, for whatever local reason, says the paper, because it seems the common ground for these acts is the perpetrators’ hate for the West, and non-Islamic believers, whose representative in the Middle East is considered to be Israel. But that’s not to say, that the so-called road map for Middle East peace was ever anything but a mere glimmer of hope, the daily concludes.

The Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung writes that Friday’s attacks have left the new Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen standing both helpless and powerless, as militants try to block moves towards political compromise, undermining his position. The paper continues that, in the light of this, Israel seems to have tightened its security measures -- after all, it says, the Israeli army has killed 43 Palestinians since Mazen took power. And it was fundamentally wrong of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to have postponed a meeting with President Bush after the most recent suicide attack.

But the South German liberal Sueddeutsche Zeitung agrees that the continuing terror attacks show the new Palestinian leader, Abu Mazen, has yet to assert himself. The Sueddeutsche also says, that whether al Qaeda was behind the Casablanca attacks or not is of little relevance. The paper writes that while a tape in February, which experts said was the voice recording of Osama bin Laden, called Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Pakistan, along with Morocco, all tributary states of the US, that needed to be liberated...al Qaeda has become the equivalent of an industry label. The cause of terrorism in Morocco, as in Saudi Arabia, is national.

Cologne’s Kölner Stadt Anzeiger is also not surprised by the terrorist attacks in Morocco. But the daily sees a threat for Europe – the most dangerous flank being in the south: in Morocco and Algeria, where, it writes, terrorists abducted 32 European holiday makers. Or Tunisia, where, a year ago, 14 German tourists died in a bomb explosion. North Africa, the paper feels, is emerging as a barrel loaded with gun-powder that no-one knows how to diffuse.