New headquarters in Berlin for German intelligence

(To Stefano Marras)
11/02/19

Capable of hosting 4000 officials and costing over 1 billion, the new German intelligence base, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), has finally become a reality in central Berlin. Interrupted several times due to technical problems and ended late, the construction of the new headquarters has been the subject of numerous criticisms, mainly due to the difficult and suspect relationship between the secret services and the German company. Historical reasons dating back especially to the Nazi period (and of the DDR ..., ndd) led Chancellor Angela Merkel, present at the inauguration ceremony, to state that if "A healthy suspicion is useful, being excessively suspicious is an obstacle".

Nevertheless, the opening of the new seda, although the work began 12 years ago, is a clear demonstration of intent as well as a change in Germany's international posture. In a historical period of high geopolitical risk, and in which not only terrorism but also the clash between great powers makes its overbearing return, Germany intends to reaffirm its European and global role in order to better defend its interests. Inside the political circles, the memory of when in the 2013 it was discovered that the telephone of Chancellor Angela Merkel had been spied on by the US National Security Agency (NSA).

The fact is that these new German "ambitions" can only require greater spending in the military and intelligence sector. If the opening of this new site (considered the largest in the world in the sector, and the size of 36 soccer fields) as well as the recent creation of a real cybernetic command are in fact irrefutable evidence of this commitment, the critical conditions in which the Teutonic armed forces pour, as well as the massive US military and intelligence presence in German territory, raise not doubts about the real ability of Berlin to operate autonomously and compete effectively on a global level.

Sources:

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-opens-huge-new-spy-hq-in-berlin/a-47433448

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/germany-opens-massive-intelligence-headq...

http://www.difesaonline.it/evidenza/cyber/anche-la-germania-ha-la-sua-qu...

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-cyber/germany-seeking-indepen...

http://www.limesonline.com/cartaceo/per-le-spie-usa-la-bundesrepublik-e-...

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/less-third-german-military-assets-operat...

Photo: Bundesnachrichtendienst