The Military Shielding Service (MAD) has significantly expanded its investigations against right-wing extremists in the Bundeswehr. According to SPIEGEL information, the military intelligence service currently leads 478 so-called "suspected case operations in the phenomenon of right-wing extremism". In May, the secret service reported to the Bundestag, they handled 428 suspected cases. In four months, 50 new cases were added.
The new figures come from a response from the Ministry of Defense to the Green Party politician Konstantin von Notz. He is a member of the Intelligence Control Panel and asked how many members of the Elite Unit Special Forces (KSK) are being monitored for possible right-wing tendencies.
The Ministry told Notz that the MAD did not track suspected cases by unit or branch of force. The evasive answer is surprising. Security circles have been circulating fairly accurate figures for over two dozen suspected cases within the KSK for weeks.
Just recently Defense Secretary Gerd Hoofe had also informed the board that the strictly sealed KSK had become a "hot spot" for the MAD because of new suspected cases, and that the growing number of MAD operations made "further action necessary".
As a suspected case, the MAD called soldiers when there is serious evidence that they have a right-wing and anti-constitutional world view. Grades are classified by the MAD with different colors: Red is used to identify recognized right-wing extremists, who are dismissed from the Bundeswehr immediately. But there are shades of yellow underneath. In these cases, there is usually a disciplinary penalty or a ban on transport.
The numbers of suspected cases always include so-called old cases that date from previous years and have not yet been clarified. In 2018, for example, the MAD took on 270 new suspected case operations.
MAD should focus on defending against extremists
The rising numbers - an increase of more than ten percent in just four months - testify in the best case of more references to right-wing soldiers from the troop. Skeptics meanwhile say that the MAD only now, after a tightening of the gait, discover the extent of right-wing ideas in the Bundeswehr.
Green politician of Notz spoke of a "dramatic and disturbing development". Precisely against the background of German history, "these events are completely unacceptable," said Notz.
Meanwhile, the ministry also admits that the intelligence service has not done its job aggressively enough in recent years. Just recently, the ministry had launched a major reform of the MAD.
With a new vice-president, a former constitutional protector, the service should cooperate more closely with the civil authorities and exchange knowledge. In addition, the MAD in the coming years should be significantly larger and focus fully on the defense of extremists.