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| Europe |
| World's biggest intelligence headquarters opens in Berlin |
| 2019-02-09 |
| [Guardian] New home for Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service took 12 years and €1bn to build No mobile phones. No private laptops. No checking personal emails or social media. And at the end of the day, all access cards must be locked in a safe. More than €1bn (£870m) and 12 years after construction began, Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) has officially opened its new Berlin home, the world’s biggest intelligence headquarters with a footprint the size of 36 football pitches. The building, close to the route of the former Berlin Wall, is one of Germany’s most secretive spaces, with strict security rules governing what employees there can and cannot do. Angela Merkel visited the headquarters on Friday and spoke of the BND’s history and the important role it plays. "In an often very confusing world," the chancellor said, "now, more urgently than ever, Germany needs a strong and efficient foreign intelligence service." |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #7 Most of it pointed inward from the border. Stasi reborn. |
| Posted by: Vespasian Unairt7733 2019-02-09 21:43 |
| #6 All staffing has been outsourced to Russia and Iran. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2019-02-09 12:00 |
| #5 The first 23 floors are dedicated to economic and business intelligence. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2019-02-09 11:21 |
| #4 A place for intelligence but no intelligence. And that is the paradox of Germany today. Great job, Angela. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2019-02-09 11:19 |
| #3 Someone has to keep track of all those Islamophobes and rising right-wing parties. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2019-02-09 10:14 |
| #2 No mobile phones. No private laptops. No checking personal emails or social media. And at the end of the day, all access cards must be locked in a safe. In other words, US Embassy and State Department personnel are NOT welcome. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2019-02-09 09:12 |
| #1 Those with political aspirations will muck it up. Perhaps an efficacious tweak here and there as needed. |
| Posted by: Dale 2019-02-09 07:11 |