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After a series of explosive revelations about right-wing extremist tendencies in the Bundeswehr, the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) is much more closely linked than before with the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).
The Defense Ministry hopes that the military intelligence service will more aggressively and efficiently target right-wing extremist soldiers in the future through closer cooperation and joint case processing with the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The prevailing view at the top of the chamber is that MAD, due to its military nature, has often acted cautiously and too slowly when it came to suspected cases of right-wing extremists.
The basis for the top-down reform is a “confidential agreement to enhance cooperation.” These were signed by the presidents of the MAD, the BfV and the Federal Criminal Police on August 18. The classified pact between the two services and the BKA is available to SPIEGEL.
Information exchange deficits
In the joint document, the three presidents openly admit that prior cooperation to identify far-right networks within the Bundeswehr has been insufficient. “In the past, there have been deficits in the transmission of information between the MAD and the BfV,” says the newspaper.
In other respects too, of course, a problem remains: the rounds of cooperation already agreed between the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and MAD have “basically proven their worth, but should be used even more for cooperation.” What is needed is “an optimally coordinated and more cooperative collaboration,” the agreement says.
There have been major setbacks in information sharing in recent months. For example, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution recently complained to parliamentarians behind closed doors that the newspaper had learned of a raid against a KSK soldier in Collm, Saxony, orchestrated by MAD. National intelligence felt left out.
Access to Philipp Sch., A veteran elite soldier in the Bundeswehr and trainer of young KSK fighters, had made headlines. In the case of the soldier classified as a right-wing extremist, the police unearthed a veritable cache of weapons. In the garden, along with abundant ammunition and Nazi devotional items, two kilograms of plastic explosives from the Bundeswehr were found.
MAD should no longer do it alone in the future. “Too isolated a consideration of one’s own tasks and responsibilities,” warns the newspaper of the three presidents, “can result in a fragmented and incomplete picture of the situation.” Therefore, stronger cooperation is “indispensable”.
Internships in the security authorities
Behind the polite formulas of the newspaper hides a classic problem of the secret services. Analysts are more than happy to only look at the cases for which they are originally responsible. The MAD is only responsible for active duty soldiers. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is prosecuting alleged cases of right-wing reservists.
Investigators have known for the past few months that there are many intersections and contacts between right-wing soldiers and right-wing extremists in the civilian world. This was particularly evident when analyzing far-right chat groups via messengers such as WhatsApp, which the researchers discovered during searches of confiscated cell phones.
Now the presidents have decided on a package of measures to bring together extremism investigators from MAD and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. MAD is supposed to participate in expert rounds of the Joint Center for Defense Against Extremism and Terrorism (GETZ), the BKA’s Coordinated Internet Assessment (KIA) and the state security commission of the federal states, which will be meets periodically.
Apart from senior officials, the level of work should also get closer. The presidents agreed to a “regular strategic and operational day at all levels” and a “joint processing of cases” in the field of right-wing extremism by MAD and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Furthermore, officials must get to know each other better through “mutual observation.”
In addition to regular expert meetings, MAD should also be better technically connected to electronic information systems. A fast connection to the Intelligence Service Information System (NADIS) is planned, which the various secret services will use to create personal and case files and exchange information on suspicious persons.
Until now, MAD has only been able to visualize information system data in a kind of read mode. However, MAD staff cannot publish their own findings on suspected Bundeswehr individuals or cases. For this to be possible, the constitutional protection law should be modified. However, so far it has blocked the SPD.
The long list of measures is the second MAD reform in a short period of time. As early as the summer of 2019, the Defense Ministry installed a civilian vice president in the fault-plagued service with former constitutional protection officer Burkhard Even, who should make the MAD more efficient and establish a closer network with his former authority. .
The presidents’ reform ideas will be the subject of a special visit to MAD headquarters on Wednesday and Thursday. Bundestag secret service controllers are traveling from Berlin and want to get an idea whether the MAD is well-equipped enough for its tasks at Konrad-Adenauer-Kaserne in Cologne. MAD President Christof Gramm will also present the newly signed cooperation agreement to you.
