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Fighting Terrorism

Germany Agrees on Anti-Terror Database

Germany has agreed to expand its efforts to combat terrorism with a massive new domestic database that will alert federal and state agencies to individuals who have been observed as potential threats. Authorities hope the additional information will help stop future attacks.

Just three weeks after a failed plot by suspected Lebanese terrorists to blow up German regional trains, federal and state interior ministers in Berlin on Monday agreed to a sweeping deal to create an anti-terrorism database to help security officials catch potential terrorists before they can kill.

The creation of such a database has been the subject of passionate debate in Germany since it began shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. But it found new currency after the attempted terrorist attacks, which saw attackers placing propane gas bombs on trains at Cologne's main station headed for Dortmund and Koblenz and the threat of mass terrorism arrive in Germany.

"This is a good day for the fight against terror," Federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble told German public broadcaster ARD. "We have taken a huge step and we've found a solution that is constitutionally sound and has convinced the interior ministers of every German state."

Under the deal reached by Germany's Interior Ministry and the interior ministries of the country's 16 federal states, the names, birthdates and addresses of suspected terrorists would be placed in a database accessible by law enforcement, intelligence and border agencies.

A major point of contention had been whether the database should include a person's religion –- a sensitive issue given Germany's World War II history. However, under the compromise, that information would not be included in the directly accessible version of database. According to a statement, however, officials could request additional information from other agencies that would include: "membership in terrorist organizations, weapon ownership, telecommunications and Internet data, bank accounts and safety deposit boxes, education, family and religious background, loss of identity papers and details of travel." That information would, of course, include revelations of whether someone had received training at an al-Qaida terror camp.

Schäuble, of the conservative Christian Democratic Union party, said he believed the compromise would comply with the country's rigid data privacy laws. The database itself would enable German police, security and intelligence agencies to quickly exchange information and, they hope, in some instances stop terrorist attacks before they happen.

In order to assuage critics, major limitations have been placed on access to the database. The supplementary information hidden from most users of the database would not be available to just any police officer. In most instances, the head of a division would be required to make the request and state the reasons. Requests would only be made in efforts to fight terrorism. In cases of an extreme terrorist threat, however, faster access could be provided to the hidden data.

The bill is expected to be approved by German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet within the next month, with a vote in the German parliament, the Bundestag, to follow shortly after. The database is expected to go into operation by the end of the year.

The legislation stalled numerous times in recent years under heavy debate between Germany's main political parties. The conservative CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, had argued for the most comprehensive database possible. But the center-left Social Democrats feared it would curb civil rights, including the right to personal data privacy.

dsl/ap/reuters/ddp