Haley Puckett

Summary analysis paper

Fox news report on German airport attack on 2 u.s. Airmen
"Terrorism Eyed in Attack at German Airport That Killed 2 U.S.
Airmen." Fox News. FOX News Network, 2 Mar. 2011. Web. 23 Apr.
2015. <http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/02/shots-fired-buscarrying-soldiers-germany/#>.
This article and news report announces the attack on US airmen
at Frankfurt International Airport. (Fraport). Investigators continued to
look into this attack to see if it was an act of terrorism. The suspect
having a Muslim background with a family in Kosovo was working at
the airport in Germany at the time. Witnesses claimed to have heard
the man say Allah Akbar before opening fire on a public bus
transporting US military persons. The bus driver and one passenger
were killed along with the two US airmen. The military men were about
to be deployed to either Afghanistan or Iraq.
The first theory investigators and police had was that this was an
act of an organized terrorist group. Yet no one had proof that this man
was a part of any group or terrorist related organization. The attack
was a simple act of targeting Americans in a foreign country. As
detectives identified the man and looked further into his backgrounds
they found that Arif Uka coming from a town in Mitrovca had its
struggles with independence in the early 1900s, which led to the
Kosovo war in 1998. NATO ended the bloody war by bombing Serbia in
1999 with peacekeepers following. Kosovo was finally separated from

Serbia and claimed their independence in 2008. No one has seen acts
like this in Germany since 1986 where American military was targeted
at a nightclub in Berlin. Germany being a relatively safe country was
shocked when the attack took place so suddenly.
President Obama and chancellor Angela Merkel were saddened
by the event and reassured the American and German citizens that
they would do their best to investigate the attack thoroughly. Germany
had reduced the amount of troops present to about 50,000 because
they were sure the country was in a safe position at the time.
Since living in Germany was a large part of my life, I was always
told to be aware of my surroundings. Being in a foreign country for the
first time is scary especially when there are common attacks on
Americans, specifically tourists and expats. As I read this article and
watched the news report, it seemed as if the attack was specifically
towards Americans as a terrorist act. As I read through the second half
of the article I discovered the history of the wars occurring in the
Middle East with the American forces. Of course this article sides with
my opinion that international airports should have extreme security,
especially for employers. Since this was an every day commute for Arif
Uka, this could have happened any day of the week. I believe the
airport security and customs (passport checks) should be stricter and
evaluate any suspicious act that may be or become a threat.