Media coverage on the recent terror warnings for Europe

The title of this blog already says it all. It is terror warnings for Europe, not in Europe.
German media took more than 24 hours to start reporting on the recent warnings. On Sunday, when possible terror attacks in Europe where one of the main topics in the States and on CNN and the government issued a warning for travelers in Europe, there was no evidence and no media reports on that to be found in German newspapers (online, which are usually faster) and in the main national news shows in the evening. On Monday, the Interior Minister, de Maiziere, admitted in an official statement that there is ongoing evidence of people planning terror attacks but there hasn´t been more activity or tangible plans recently. He warned against an atmosphere of panic. Is the Globe and Mail right and German government is downplaying the whole problem?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/europe/fbi-germany-play-down-fears-of-europe-terror-threat/article1741001/

Or is it just the typical threat-and-fear-element of American politics in the face of pending elections. This is what people normally think when the United States of America play the Al-Qaida-card, especially, when a day before, after a long silence, suddenly "new" Osama bin Laden videos show up (as it was the case this time again).

According to New York Times, even the US administration wasn´t sure how to deal with the situation since the issued warnings are anything than precise and practicable.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/world/europe/04security.html?_r=1&ref=europe

For those who can read German a small collection of German newspaper articles. Still, it is just one in between many and Germany currently is more concerned with the civil uprising and government crisis in Stuttgart. Even conservative newspaper like the FAZ, who would normally alert and play the potential threat of Al-Qaida and other terror groups up than down (whereas the more liberal and leftwing-liberal newspapers don´t agree with the war in Iraq and with American foreign policies, hence there are traditionally a lot more critical on everything concerning this topic), even those conservative papers acknowledged that the threat should not be taken lightly but not to seriously either.

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/terrorwarnungen-fuer-europa-al-qaida-geschwaech
te-zentrale-gefaehrliche-spinnen-1.1008175

http://www.faz.net/s/RubF359F74E867B46C1A180E8E1E1197DEE/Doc~E43EAE6388EB749CBAA6D38E36DF907B8~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html
thema nicht auf die leichte schulter nehmen, aber keine panikmache


Germany´s biggest yellow paper, the BILD-Zeitung, did not jump on the panic-train either, which was the biggest surprise.
http://www.bild.de/BILD/politik/2010/10/05/terror-nachwuchs-wie-gefaehrlich/sind-die-islamisten-aus-deutschland.html

Are Germans right in downplaying the whole scenario? Or are we just naive and arrogant to think that we are safe and will be spared? Naive, because we think that not participating in the Iraq-war makes us the somehow better westerners in the eyes of fundamental groups? Arrogant, because we believe that the state has everything under control and that we, again, the "good Germans" are not the main target of Osama bin Laden and co?

How does Canada react? Well, it is a somewhat non-reaction without being one. The government advised Canadian travelers in Europe to be watchful and use common sense. That is never wrong.