New Wolff in the lair

The BND (the German Security Service) appointed a new Deputy Chief on 1st November. He is Philipp Wolff, aged 50. Wolff’s background is in law and he was a public prosecutor in Munich at the start of his career. He moved up through the managerial ranks and then switched to …

Spying Today Special Report: Intelligence and the Iraq War

Why was Iraq targeted? 1) It was consistent with the US idea that it is easier to hit the countries that are backing the terrorists rather than taking on the terrorist groups one by one. Saddam wasn’t, but he had and he might again; 2) Iraq was an easy target …

Lockerbie

A German state prosecutor has confirmed reports that five former Stasi officers have been interviewed in the past nine months in relation to the Lockerbie airliner bombing. A Libyan intelligence officer, Abdelbaset al Megrahi, was found guilty in 2001 of planning the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which killed …

My enemy’s enemy is my … um …

The United States has threatened the German intelligence services with a reduction in intelligence sharing if the German government does not fall into line with America’s proposed ban on Huawei technology in 5G networks. To try to counter this, the German government has sent senior economic adviser, Lars-Hendrick Roeller, to …