VZCZCXRO0199
RR RUEHAG RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHDF #0035 2640757
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210757Z SEP 09
FM AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0231
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT 0006
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0007
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
REUHRL/USDAO BERLIN GE
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RUEPGDA/USEUCOM JIC VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHDF/AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 0247

UNCLAS DUSSELDORF 000035 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/CE, EUR/PGI, S/CT, IO/PSC AND EEB/ESC/TFS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL KISL KCRM PK UZ GM
SUBJECT: ATTACK ON RAMSTEIN AFB PLANNED FOR ITS SYMBOLIC VALUE, 
TERRORIST SUSPECT SAYS 
 
REF: DUESSELDORF 30 
 
¶1. (U) Daniel Schneider, one of the defendants in the ongoing 
terrorist trial of the "Islamic Jihad Union" (IJU) Sauerland 
cell (reftel), testified before the Duesseldorf Higher Regional 
Court on September 15 that the group considered attacking the 
U.S. Air Force Base in Ramstein for its symbolic value.  With 
this attack, the group wanted to draw negative attention to the 
U.S. military presence in Germany, according to Schneider, 
adding that they planned to gain access to the base with forged 
ID cards to deposit an explosive device and then flee the scene 
on foot. 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) In testimony from September 16, another defendant, Atilla 
Selek, described the group's efforts to procure detonators from 
Turkey with the help of Mevluet Kar, a Turkish national who 
lived in Germany before he returned to Turkey in 2002.  The 
Federal Court of Justice issued an arrest warrant for him based 
on his support of the terrorist group.  According to Selek's 
testimony, Kar surprised him with insider knowledge about the 
group's membership and activities in Germany and Pakistan.  Kar 
claimed he had gotten the information from a relative working 
for the Turkish intelligence service, MIT, implying that German 
authorities had shared the information with MIT.  After learning 
from Kar that the group was under surveillance, Selek called 
Gelowicz, the confessed leader of the Sauerland cell, and asked 
him to stop preparations for attacks in Germany.  However, as 
Gelowicz testified earlier, the group fell into a trap laid by 
the German intelligence services, who led the group to believe 
the surveillance by the Office for the Protection of the 
Constitution (OPC) had stopped, lulling the group into a false 
sense of security. 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU)  In a related development, a high-placed source in the 
Court told the CG on September 15 that the judges dealing with 
this case were consistently astounded by the depth of the 
confessions made by the defendants.  The most unexpected 
development was that Adem Yilmaz, the most militant and 
fundamentalist of the four defendants, now considers Ottmar 
Breidling, the presiding judge, as his Emir or leader. 
According to our source, Yilmaz, who initially refused to stand 
for the court and shouted at Breidling that he only stands for 
Allah, now regularly turns to Breidling for assistance in making 
decisions.  The Court expects to finish the trial by next 
spring. 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
 
WEINER