Sadder but Wiser, Merkel's Germany Is Turning into a Police State

Angela Merkel’s still-unexplained decision to throw open the nation she grew up hating to an invasion force from the Middle East in the guise of “humanitarianism” is now having the all-too-predictable domestic consequences one might expect:

The German government proposed a broad range of measures on Thursday to bolster security and combat terrorism, its strongest official response so far to two recent attacks by terrorists pledging loyalty to the Islamic State and a deadly shooting rampage in Munich.

Many of the measures, which include closer monitoring of refugees and enhanced surveillance, seem likely to win legislative approval but prompted concerns in a country that is deeply protective of privacy and civil liberties.

The package of proposals is the most comprehensive from the German government since Europe became a consistent target of terrorist attacks by the Islamic State, other radical groups and their followers. They were unveiled at a time when Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing accusations that the welcome she gave last year to migrants streaming to the Continent from Syria and other nations in the Middle East has compromised security.

“Accusations”? Four major attacks in six days by Muslims will do that.

Mr. de Maizière reiterated publicly concerns previously voiced privately by senior intelligence officials that Germany — and Europe — does not always know enough about migrants.

He noted that the recent decision to register air travelers in and out of Europe was an improvement, and he urged that all of Germany’s federal and state law enforcement and intelligence officials should have access to that information. “We see in recent months that these offices must know exactly who is coming to Europe, and who is leaving it,” he said.

Other measures he proposed included combing the social media profiles of refugees and other migrants to look out for signs of radicalization, as the authorities in the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have done.

In a statement, Mr. de Maizière said that officials could have gleaned more information after a bomb threat at a mall in Dortmund if officials had had access to surveillance footage, which he said had been restricted by data protection officials. “Overall, we must extend and optimize our use of I.T.” he said, referring to information technology.

None of this will work. The correct course is for Europe to admit its soft-headed error, expel most of the “refugees” and try to restore some order to individual national borders. Merkel’s Folly was not simply confined to Germany, because once inside the tent, the North African Arabs and others can roam freely throughout the EU — and they do.

But Germany would rather die than admit error, and so it will. Along the way however, look for a larger police presence, more intrusive snooping, changing cultural mores, xenophobia and all the other attendant ills that Deutschland thought it had thrown off in April of 1945.