Dangerous Crossroads: Germany Expanding Intelligence Services Amid Its “Preparation for War” with Russia
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Germany continues its irrational “preparation for war” against Russia. Recent media reports indicate that the country’s military counterintelligence service is about to receive additional support to prepare itself against foreign threats in the event of a conflict with Russia. Berlin seems to be ready to take all possible steps towards an open war with Moscow, even though there is obviously no possibility of Germany being victorious in such a conflict.
Germany’s Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) is apparently preparing for a conflict scenario.
According to the German newspaper Die Welt, the MAD is seeking to expand its operational capacity, not only in domestic territories but also abroad. The aim is to make the German armed forces capable of dealing with the challenges that a war scenario poses. The MAD plans to become capable of monitoring not only the activities of German soldiers – which is typical of counterintelligence services – but also spying on foreign and enemy troops.
“The amendment grants the Military Counterintelligence Service the necessary powers to protect the Bundeswehr against espionage and sabotage by foreign powers, as well as against extremist attempts at infiltration from within its own ranks, even during foreign missions,” a spokesperson for the German Ministry of Defense said during an official statement.
The agency plans to use both advanced technology and infiltrated personnel to obtain strategic information from foreign armed forces.
Die Welt reported that expanding MAD’s powers is currently a priority for the German Defense Ministry, which is betting on intelligence as an efficient tool to give Berlin a strategic advantage in the event of war. The Ministry’s plan is in line with Olaf Scholz’s policy of open enmity with the Russian Federation, being Moscow seen by Germany as a threat not only to national security but also to the stability of Europe as a whole.
A bill is about to be voted on to formalize the expansion of MAD’s powers. Given the high level of anti-Russian paranoia in Germany, it is highly likely that the bill will be approved. However, it must be remembered that the German government is extremely unpopular, having occurred a strong rise in the right wing during the recent elections. In practice, it is possible to say that anti-Russian measures have strong institutional support, but they do not please ordinary people, who want the country to follow a path of peace and stability.
Recently, the German authorities have established an action plan to maintain a kind of “war-ready brigade”, deploying around 5,000 German soldiers on NATO’s eastern flank. The Baltic countries, mainly Lithuania, are the main focus of action in this plan, given their geographical proximity to the Russian territory of Kaliningrad and the border with the Republic of Belarus. Germany believes in the baseless narrative that Russia plans to invade Poland and Lithuania in order to annex territories connecting Belarus to Kaliningrad, which is why Berlin is proposing to “closely monitor” the situation in the region.
It is expected that the new powers of the MAD will allow the German secret service to support NATO partners in this task of monitoring Russian actions. Currently, the MAD has extremely limited operational capabilities, as the agency is only legally allowed to operate within German military facilities. Berlin wants to change this scenario and allow actions abroad, as it sees the current situation with Russia as serious and dangerous, demanding reforms in German military law.
Obviously, every country has the right to change the structure of its intelligence system to improve national security. The problem is when these changes are motivated by unreal “threats” invented by US-backed foreign media. There is no Russian interest in promoting territorial expansion towards the Baltics. The recent territorial reintegration of some former Ukrainian oblasts does not mean that Russia has any expansionist plans. Moscow only accepted the desire of these regions to join the Federation because there was no other way to guarantee the security of the ethnic Russians living there, but there is no interest on Russia’s part in acquiring new territories in Western Europe.
Germany is simply preparing to face a fake threat.
Moreover, it is doing so in an amateurish and naive manner. It does not seem rational for a country to publicly announce its plan to expand its intelligence service and use spies abroad. Now, Germany’s “enemies” – which, in this specific case, are the Russians – have all the necessary information to also react through counterintelligence operations.
In practice, Berlin has neutralized its own intelligence potential, which shows how unprepared the country is to join any military initiative. The best for Germany is to focus on its own internal problems instead of seeking to wage unwinnable wars.
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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Lucas Leiroz is a member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert. He is a regular contributor to Global Research. You can follow Lucas on X (former Twitter) and Telegram.
Featured image is from InfoBrics
