Chancellor Gerhard Schröder does not tire of publicly pledging German support for the anti-Terrorist alliance on his trips abroad. At home, however, dissatisfaction with the course of the US actions is growing. Schröder is headed for trouble.

“Open up Your Markets”

SPIEGEL interview with the head of the IMF, Horst Köhler, on the world economy in a time of recession, on lethargy in the European Union and his enthusiasm for Africa:

“The crisis should give a new boost to political and economic integration within Europe. For example, we still don’t have an entirely single market in the energy sector and in the field of the financial market. One gets the impression that things are tending to develop away from each other again. It’s simply accepted, more or less as matter of course, that political reforms are being put on ice out of consideration for the elections in France or Germany. … I’ve been on two extended visits to Africa. The poverty and the HIV epidemic are a disaster. But I returned from Africa encouraged. For one thing because people there have not given themselves up. I have never encountered so much dignity in poverty as in Africa. That’s particularly true of the women. And the other thing is that the New African Initiative shows that there are leaders in Africa who clearly recognise the problems of their continent, who don’t just hold out their hands, but who are trying to fight the causes of poverty in their own country, such as corruption and armed conflicts. These African leaders now need honest, effective and quick assistance in order to crown their own efforts with success.”

“Incomplete Data”

Financing terrorism: A scientist has been using highly complex statistical methods to try and calculate the budget of the terrorist organisation al-Qaida. From a purely scientific point of view, al-Qaida’s finances are a so-called “unobservable quantity” – like the climate in England between 1650 and 1700, for instance. In both cases, no concrete records are available. And yet they can be calculated fairly precisely with the help of other factors. The scientist was particularly interested in all clues about possible sources of money available to the terrorists, such as revenues from drugs trafficking. At any rate, the experts at the German intelligence service BND seemed impressed by his calculations.

The “Caliph of Cologne”, Metin Kaplan, will apparently be deported from Germany soon. Kaplan is the head of a radical Islamist organisation in Germany and is now serving a sentence in a German prison for, among other things, calling for the killing of his strongest opponent in Germany.

The international hunt for three men from Hamburg suspected of helping to organize the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon is running high.

Report about the connections between alleged terrorist Siad Jarrah, who was one of the hijackers on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11, and the former East German Stasi, the secret police.

“They Won’t Get Bin Laden”

SPIEGEL interview with Indian defence minister George Fernandes on the anti-terrorism alliance with the USA – and on the danger of a conflict with the nuclear power Pakistan:

“I’m afraid that the Americans’ desire to catch Osama bin Laden will remain unfulfilled. And that their other goal of replacing the Taliban by a tribal coalition will become a game of patience with thousands of pitfalls. … The Taliban enjoy such intensive and broad support in Pakistan that General Musharraf will have a hard time with his balancing act. … Where are the Taliban to withdraw to if not to their former friends and patrons in Pakistan? … Pakistan’s government may be hostile towards India and be disposed towards adventure, but I wouldn’t say it was irresponsible. Islamabad wouldn’t place its nuclear weapons in the hands of the wrong people. The country wants to survive and so does its political leadership.”

“Where the Wild Guys Live”

Pakistan: The nuclear power Pakistan has no control over a quarter of its territory. Pashtunistan in the country’s wild west is ruled by tribal law. The Pashtuns respect no authority other than Allah, and loathe all the achievements of modern civilisation – except for automatic guns and vehicles suitable for warfare. The government in Islamabad does nothing against their illegal activities because it is afraid of rocking the peace and order in the north-western province. Autonomy comes at a price. Since the safety of the citizens in the tribal areas is not a state issue, three to five times as many people are murdered there as in the rest of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan’s homicide rate is already one of the highest in Asia.

“Young Boys with a Bazooka”

In its battle against the Taliban warriors of God, the Northern Alliance is mobilising its last reserves: children. Virtually no comrade-in-arms is too young to take part in the announced assault on Kabul. About one in ten of the United States’ Afghan allies has not yet come of age. The hatred for the Taliban is just as deeply ingrained in the young fighters as in their older comrades. A visit to the Red Cross hospital Golbahar, not far from the front outside Kabul reveals why the Northern Alliance has to rely on the help of children. In the hospital, many soldiers between the ages of 20 and 30 whose legs have been amputated and who can only move around on crutches are waiting to receive artificial limbs. Countless mines have turned an entire generation of young men into war-disabled invalids.

“Bodyguards beneath the Cross”

Religion: Christians in Pakistan are afraid of becoming terrorist targets – in revenge for the bombs being dropped on Kabul. The relationship between Muslims and Christians in Pakistan has never been altogether peaceful. Christians, who constitute the largest religious minority with some seven million followers, are put down and humiliated here as “sweepers”. Since the beginning of the war, but particularly since the massacre of the Catholic followers in the Church of St. Dominic in Bahawalpur in the East of Pakistan eight days ago, the Christians are living in the greatest fear.

“Afghanistan – a Trap?” SPIEGEL cover story about the American military involvement in Afghanistan. Are they pursuing the wrong strategy? Is the military making the same mistakes that the Soviet Union did?

“Return of the Grey Wanderer”

Wildlife: For the first time in 150 years, a pack of wolves has once again settled in Germany. Experts believe that the beasts of prey have good chances of surviving, particularly in Brandenburg and Saxony. But much as conservationists may rejoice at the Saxon wolves, not everyone is as enthusiastic about the return of the beasts. Does our modern cultivated countryside actually still offer room for wolves? And should this predator, which certainly isn’t threatened by world-wide extinction, really be allowed to roam our forests again?

“Mobilising Thought”

Brain research: Neuroscientists are developing apparatuses that can listen in on signals in the brain and translate them into electronic commands. In experiments with animals, nerve cells and computer chips are growing together. Soon paralysed people may well be able to control machines using thought commands.

“The Mythology of Berlin”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with French writer Alain Robbe-Grillet on the “nouveau roman”, his relationship with Germany, and his new book:

“Never before have I had such instant success as now, with “La Reprise”; 20,000 copies were sold within three weeks. … The history of the “nouveau roman” is the history of books which aim at a future audience, at readers who did not actually exist at the time. … France doesn’t sell best-sellers, it sells premium products: marvellous Bordeaux wines, strong cheeses and the “nouveau roman”. … My parents felt a kind of love for Germany. Politically speaking they were right-wing, in fact very far right. … National Socialism appeared to us to be the perfect example of a regime of order: family, work, fatherland. That was also Pétain’s slogan. And the German soldiers behaved in a very disciplined fashion. … The pictures of the liberated concentration camps were a terrible shock to me. The most murderous, bloody madness had been hiding behind the supposed German order. At that moment I decided to become a resolute advocate of disorder.”