Multiple crises
Intelligence services: Challenged by diverse threats
The “entry threshold” into right-wing extremism has fallen, says the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang. photo
© Monika Skolimowska/dpa
Drones flying over Bundeswehr properties, increased Chinese espionage activities, Islamists – a hearing from the intelligence services makes it clear: Multiple crises also create stress here.
In addition, “the emergence of new left-wing terrorist structures has become more likely.” The fact that things have recently remained relatively quiet in this country when it comes to Islamist terrorism is thanks to the attention of the security authorities.
“Our security policy environment is in a state of upheaval,” stated the President of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Bruno Kahl. After the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, his office was partly criticized for not having “predicted the hour” of this attack. However, Russia’s general tendency to use military force was “definitely the subject of our reporting.” Corresponding warnings about Russia also came in good time. Nevertheless, conclusions have now been drawn and have now begun to “set up alternative scenarios and assign them different probabilities”.
There is no shortage of experts on Russia and China in the BND, reported Kahl. On the other hand, it is difficult to attract and retain specialists in the technical field for the foreign intelligence service. Younger workers in particular generally expect home office options and would have a problem if they couldn’t take their cell phones with them to the office. Both are difficult because of the security requirements.
Money from Russia
According to Haldenwang, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has indications that German right-wing extremist circles and Russia are networking. The domestic public service has the “working hypothesis” that money from Russia goes to some protagonists of the scene, possibly also to finance parties on the far right.
In the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD), all areas of work are currently under heavy strain due to “the volatile security situation,” said MAD President Martina Rosenberg. In addition to preventing Russian espionage for German support for the Ukrainian army, the MAD is currently concerned, among other things, with the permanent stationing of a German brigade in Lithuania and the deteriorating security situation in Mali, according to Rosenberg.
In the context of the training measures for Ukrainian soldiers in Germany, the MAD observes that these soldiers are being addressed. Especially at the beginning and towards the end of the measures, conspicuous drone overflights were detected, said Rosenberg. Even if these cannot be assigned without any doubt, it is still “relatively clear in which direction it is going”.
With regard to former Bundeswehr fighter pilots who were hired as trainers in China, the MAD boss said that she would like to see better legal handling here. This applies both to secondary activities and to the later professional activities of former soldiers, especially if they have special knowledge – including NATO standards.
Escalation in the Middle East
The Bundestag committee that is supposed to control the work of the secret services normally meets behind closed doors. The content of its meetings is secret, apart from one public hearing per year.
The President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution said that he considered the bans on the activities of the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas and the Samidoun network announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to be correct. As far as the effects of the escalation in the Middle East on the security of Jewish institutions in Germany, Haldenwang said that there are currently no concrete indications of danger, but an “abstract high risk”.