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Nine dead so far, driver arrested.
That is as much as we know right now,

The arrest may well be precautionary, the lorry or driver may have failed somehow. But police at this stage are keeping an open mind that the collision with the shoppers might have been deliberate.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38373867
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/19/berlin-truck-crashes-into-christmas-market
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/19/berlin-truck-crashes-christmas-market/


Edit: Now considered a terror attack. ISIS/Daesh claims responsibility

Aren't there any fencing ? Concrete barriers ? In France we have had this since the last truck attack. Why not Germany ?

Because Germany doesn't have these type of attacks and is not involved in the Middle East? (not being hostile-I just imagine thats the reason).

I don't understand these attacks that literally have no point.

 Frazzled wrote:
I don't understand these attacks that literally have no point.

To create fear and anger?

Yeah ok, but we had one of these attack in July, in France ! It is very actual.
France and Germany are very close countries, it should have been obvious that this kind of attack was going to happen there, too.

 godardc wrote:
Yeah ok, but we had one of these attack in July, in France ! It is very actual.
France and Germany are very close countries, it should have been obvious that this kind of attack was going to happen there, too.

Why? Literally because they share a border? Then where is the Spanish truck attack, the Belgian truck attack, the Luxembourgian truck attack, the Italian truck attack etc.?

It's a shame. Been following this at work today, we sell lots of tours & Danube river cruises that do the xmas markets, luckily for us none of them hit Berlin so we didn't have any passengers there. At least they got the guy before he could take the easy way out.

 infinite_array wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
I don't understand these attacks that literally have no point.

To create fear and anger?

To a third party of no relation? Again, for what purpose?

 Frazzled wrote:
Because Germany doesn't have these type of attacks and is not involved in the Middle East? (not being hostile-I just imagine thats the reason).

I don't understand these attacks that literally have no point.

Germany has a very heavy presence in Afghanistan, and last year they authorized sending 1200 soldiers and recon jets to fight ISIS.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 godardc wrote:
Yeah ok, but we had one of these attack in July, in France ! It is very actual.
France and Germany are very close countries, it should have been obvious that this kind of attack was going to happen there, too.

Why? Literally because they share a border? Then where is the Spanish truck attack, the Belgian truck attack, the Luxembourgian truck attack, the Italian truck attack etc.?

Thats kind of my point. Other than making the Turmpain argument that the only point is the country let in persons of a certain which permitted this to occur, whats the reason?

Sorry maybe I am hijacking the thread.

 godardc wrote:
Aren't there any fencing ? Concrete barriers ? In France we have had this since the last truck attack. Why not Germany ?

However much of Germany you want to see fenced off, I am sure you will end up missing a bit.

 djones520 wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Because Germany doesn't have these type of attacks and is not involved in the Middle East? (not being hostile-I just imagine thats the reason).

I don't understand these attacks that literally have no point.

Germany has a very heavy presence in Afghanistan, and last year they authorized sending 1200 soldiers and recon jets to fight ISIS.

But have they? They've officially notified NATO they don't have the capacity to meet NATO terms, much less project power. Again this is a question, not a criticism.

 Orlanth wrote:

 godardc wrote:
Aren't there any fencing ? Concrete barriers ? In France we have had this since the last truck attack. Why not Germany ?

However much of Germany you want to see fenced off, I am sure you will end up missing a bit.

Thats a a heavy truck...
anything short of a heavy barrier weighing several tons aint stopping it.

you need somthing big to stop a lorry.

 Frazzled wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 godardc wrote:
Yeah ok, but we had one of these attack in July, in France ! It is very actual.
France and Germany are very close countries, it should have been obvious that this kind of attack was going to happen there, too.

Why? Literally because they share a border? Then where is the Spanish truck attack, the Belgian truck attack, the Luxembourgian truck attack, the Italian truck attack etc.?

Thats kind of my point. Other than making the Turmpain argument that the only point is the country let in persons of a certain which permitted this to occur, whats the reason?

Sorry maybe I am hijacking the thread.

ISIL claimed it...

Yes, but why make the attack? At least the old anarchist bombers had a point.

 Frazzled wrote:
Because Germany doesn't have these type of attacks and is not involved in the Middle East? (not being hostile-I just imagine thats the reason).

I don't understand these attacks that literally have no point.

I think the idea is to make people angry at the muslim people, attacking them, and then making these muslims yours, by defending them.

 Frazzled wrote:

 djones520 wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Because Germany doesn't have these type of attacks and is not involved in the Middle East? (not being hostile-I just imagine thats the reason).

I don't understand these attacks that literally have no point.

Germany has a very heavy presence in Afghanistan, and last year they authorized sending 1200 soldiers and recon jets to fight ISIS.

But have they? They've officially notified NATO they don't have the capacity to meet NATO terms, much less project power. Again this is a question, not a criticism.

Yes, German troops are in theater. They have those troops in Iraq, 6 recon aircraft, a frigate, and more partaking in operations in the area.

 jhe90 wrote:

 Orlanth wrote:

 godardc wrote:
Aren't there any fencing ? Concrete barriers ? In France we have had this since the last truck attack. Why not Germany ?

However much of Germany you want to see fenced off, I am sure you will end up missing a bit.

Thats a a heavy truck...
anything short of a heavy barrier weighing several tons aint stopping it.

you need somthing big to stop a lorry.

Just the cost alone involved in truck-proofing every city will be very prohibitive and does nothing to stop any of these events just outside placed barriers. As badly as we might want it, nothing can ever be terror proofed to a 100%.

Jaysus that's a big truck...

 Frazzled wrote:
Yes, but why make the attack? At least the old anarchist bombers had a point.

We are all infidel Frazzie.
They dont need any more reason than that.

After all they will slaughter their own kind and behead aid workers that Islamic clerics called for the release of.

Not truck proofing all the cities, but the events, like this one.

 infinite_array wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
I don't understand these attacks that literally have no point.

To create fear and anger?

Does that actually work in causing anything other than a massive backlash from a country that now has a reason to get involved in the conflict?

Their point is usually just "Boo hoo I need attentions mommy"

 Disciple of Fate wrote:

 jhe90 wrote:

 Orlanth wrote:

 godardc wrote:
Aren't there any fencing ? Concrete barriers ? In France we have had this since the last truck attack. Why not Germany ?

However much of Germany you want to see fenced off, I am sure you will end up missing a bit.

Thats a a heavy truck...
anything short of a heavy barrier weighing several tons aint stopping it.

you need somthing big to stop a lorry.

Just the cost alone involved in truck-proofing every city will be very prohibitive and does nothing to stop any of these events just outside placed barriers. As badly as we might want it, nothing can ever be terror proofed to a 100%.

Actually installing these precautions would be a victory for terrorism, and they would just switch attack method anyway. Those heavy concentre barriers will contain blast waves making a grenade in a crowd deadlier. You defeat terrorists with alert security services, and counter-propaganda, not walls.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 godardc wrote:
Yeah ok, but we had one of these attack in July, in France ! It is very actual.
France and Germany are very close countries, it should have been obvious that this kind of attack was going to happen there, too.

Why? Literally because they share a border? Then where is the Spanish truck attack, the Belgian truck attack, the Luxembourgian truck attack, the Italian truck attack etc.?

Eventually there will be acts like this all over the world...I smelled something like that for quite some time...preventing my family to participate in big events...better safe than sorry...

 godardc wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Because Germany doesn't have these type of attacks and is not involved in the Middle East? (not being hostile-I just imagine thats the reason).

I don't understand these attacks that literally have no point.

I think the idea is to make people angry at the muslim people, attacking them, and then making these muslims yours, by defending them.

Actually seems kinda sensible when you put it that way.

Horrific, of course. But at least it makes sense as an actual plan.

 godardc wrote:
Not truck proofing all the cities, but the events, like this one.

This only moves the issue, what if they do it on any other weekday plowing through a busy shopping street outside of events. As long as you have road acces to groups of people this seemingly new truck method will always have some effect.

 Pouncey wrote:

 godardc wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Because Germany doesn't have these type of attacks and is not involved in the Middle East? (not being hostile-I just imagine thats the reason).

I don't understand these attacks that literally have no point.

I think the idea is to make people angry at the muslim people, attacking them, and then making these muslims yours, by defending them.

Actually seems kinda sensible when you put it that way.

Horrific, of course. But at least it makes sense as an actual plan.

Its a standard modus operandi for terror networks, Terror leaders need to radicalise their own demographic, and they can do that by making them all the enemies of the state. The more widespread the state casts its net to find terror infiltrators in the community the more they alienate that community.
Reversing that is very difficult, but can be done.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Disciple of Fate wrote:

 godardc wrote:
Not truck proofing all the cities, but the events, like this one.

This only moves the issue, what if they do it on any other weekday plowing through a busy shopping street outside of events. As long as you have road acces to groups of people this seemingly new truck method will always have some effect.

The nasty thing is the shopping centre which terrorists will target need large scale supply by heavy lorries.
You need to actively stop the driver not passively stop the lorry.

There are guards who control the entrances of the shops.
This kind of event is a big target. You don't even need to be controled or to go in and shoot: you just have to drive a truck, and noone can stop you. It is way easier.

Ok, maybe a terrorist could try to shoot all these poor people, but I think there would be less dead.

Still, it's horrible. Families, children... During Christmas !

Unless that leads to the utter extermination of all your locations. Kind of like what is happening in ISILand now.