On July 31, two men attempted to carry out a major terrorist attack on Germany by placing bombs on two crowded commuter trains leaving Cologne's main train station. The bombs, which were hidden in luggage, failed to detonate and the station's security cameras captured footage of the suspects. The images were released by the authorities last Friday. One day later, a 21-year-old Lebanese student, Youssef Mohamed E., was arrested in Kiel  on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist group and attempted murder. The police are still hunting the second suspect.

The attempted terror attack and the successful arrest have triggered a debate in Germany over whether the country needs to beef up its security measures. Suggestions include expanding the use of video surveillance and even employing so-called "train marshalls," armed guards on trains. There are also proposals for an anti-terror register, which could be accessed by all security and intelligence services and which would ease the sharing of information. However, for some in Germany this smacks a bit too much of Big Brother.

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes that "it is human nature to suppress unpleasant truths," and German society has long suppressed the terrorist threat. Although security experts and interior ministers have warned for years that Germany could become a possible target, "in the public consciousness, the danger was never really taken seriously." The paper writes that "somehow there was the vague feeling that it wouldn’t affect this country," due to Germany keeping out of the Iraq war and its good reputation in the Muslim world. "The arrest in Kiel has finally exposed this as a naïve and false belief." The paper argues that the fact that nothing has happened so far is presumably a mixture of luck and good police work. The paper implores politicians to quickly approve what it describes as "essential measures" -- including the creation of am anti-terror register and increased video surveillance. The paper concludes that while these measures can't prevent attacks, "as Kiel has shown, they are decisive in helping the investigation."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung argues that German security policy can be more accurately described as "the management of security gaps" and is based on the departmental interests of ministers and the rivalry between the central and regional governments. In addition there is an "ideological mess" in the country that includes "data protection illusions, anti-Americanism (the guiding idea: Serves them right. We in contrast are a 'peaceful power') and justified skepticism about security services being given powers that are too broad." According to the paper, attempts to restructure the security services have been prevented or postponed by regional politicians and officials, while the creation of terror data has been disputed for years. The paper concludes that the bombs were a warning. "Thank God they didn’t kill anyone. The next attempt could end differently."

Handelsblatt writes that, with "self-deceptive and cowardly convenience," Germans thought that due to the clever restraint in the Iraq war, the murderers would only kill Israelis, Americans, Britons and Spaniards. This has given way to the realization that "we are in the thick of it. We are the West and thus the target." The paper writes that this is a shock and "therefore it is hardly surprising that the first impulse is to call for stricter laws and increased powers for the authorities." However, the editorialist also states there is little a country can do to protect its people from men who don't necessarily stand out in society who use instructions from the Internet to build their own bombs and put them on trains. "More tapped private conversations, and increased powers cannot guarantee complete protection." The paper argues that the limits that the state has imposed upon itself for the sake of freedom are coming under pressure, and "the greater the fear, the louder the calls to get rid of these limits." The paper warns that "fear is a poor adviser, in politics as elsewhere."

The conservative Die Welt writes that Germany is now a terrorist target and "in an acute state of threat." Society has finally realized "this bitter truth" and is shocked. Germany has for too long mistrusted the police and security services. However, "it is clear that they are doing excellent work, otherwise there would not have been such a speedy arrest." The paper argues that there has been a "huge change in mentality," since the 1980s "hysteria" over data protection, and security is now just as precious as freedom. The world has changed, and with it the Germany, in foreign as well as domestic policy. According to the paper, today "even data protection officials are calling for anti-terror data," and there is a wider political consensus on an increased use of video surveillance. The paper concludes that these are the "correct steps for a well-protected democracy."

The left-wing Die Tageszeitung writes that for a long time German society has reacted quite civilly and reasonably to terror. "But nobody knows how exploding trains would have changed the mood." The paper writes that it is essential to praise the police. "Even some left liberals have to ask themselves whether video surveillance is not for their own good." However, the paper argues that there is a transparent attempt to create a mood, by emphasizing that Germany is now a target and that "we can no longer hide, we have to arm ourselves in the war on terror." The paper writes that, as in London we look in bewilderment at our neighbours "and wonder how an unremarkable man can turn into a potential mass murderer." In Britain there is "a growing terrorist structure with links to Pakistan," but in Germany, "it is still unclear if there was a notable important terrorist network in the background." The paper goes on to argue that people should remain skeptical of calls by German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble for additional powers to be bestowed on the foreign intelligence agency, the BND, and for greater data exchange between police and the domestic intelligence ageny, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. "More, more, more. It is the usual reflex," the paper concludes. "Despite the praise for the successful manhunt, we should be skeptical when judging the minister."

The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes that the successful manhunt cannot hide the fact that the attack only failed due to technical deficiencies, and could not have otherwise been prevented. Despite "the extensive increase in their powers," the police and secret service were "not in a position to discover the plot in time." And the politicians and the authorities are using the near-miss to expand efforts to spy on citizens -- with their . "It seems as if Germany is on the ideal path to turn itself into a democratically sanctioned surveillance state," the paper writes. The latest key word in the fight against terror is anti-terror data. The paper asks if "the state is really taking the fear of its citizens seriously or just exploiting it?" According to BZ, new security legislation would not be able to prevent these kinds of attacks. The paper argues that Germany has to live with the threat of terror, but that the state should not just react with security policy. It needs a foreign policy that "supports the diplomatic solution to international conflicts and that helps poor countries through economically sustainable measures." And "a domestic policy that takes the integration of foreigners seriously and offers them economic and social prospects."