Photo Gallery Germany's Intelligence Cooperation with the US
Gerhard Schindler, the president of Germany's Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), the country's foreign intelligence agency, at the former NSA base in Bad Aibling. The NSA largely abandoned the base in 2004, but an NSA team stayed behind and continued to work closely with BND agents who took over the site.
Germany's BND has denied that information it provides to the US is used to identify targets for drone attacks. But the situation is a complicated one. It is possible to equip drones with what are known as IMSI catchers, which intercept mobile phone signals.
The Mangfall Kaserne in Bad Aibling houses Special US Liaison Activity Germany, or SUSLAG. The NSA is pleased with the facility, referring in one document to "two exciting joint ventures" that were carried out there. Most of the targets monitored jointly by the BND and NSA are in Africa and Afghanistan.
BND President Gerhard Schindler at the Bad Aibling monitoring base. According to the German constitution, the BND is not allowed to perform surveillance on German citizens, but it seems doubtful that the Germans know exactly what their NSA colleagues are doing in Bad Aibling.
This document from the archive of whistleblower Edward Snowden notes that "the fact that NSA and BND ... perform SIGINT collection at Mangfall Kaserne" must remain confidential. An additional document notes that the Joint SIGINT Activity (JSA) is "unique as a jointly manned, jointly tasked DNI site," with DNI referring to Digital Network Intelligence.
The logo of the joint BND-NSA intelligence collection site in Bad Aibling. A confidential contract governs the delicate relationship between the two agencies.
