News from Germany from 08.05.2025
The chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, Republican Tom Cotton, is calling for an end to intelligence cooperation with the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution after it upgraded the AfD as "definitely right-wing extremist".

"I have asked Tulsi Gabbard to ensure that American intelligence agencies do not cooperate with German agencies that monitor domestic political opponents. These police-state tactics are more appropriate for Russia or communist China, not for Western Europe's largest country," Cotton said on Wednesday. Gabbard is the intelligence coordinator of the USA.

In a letter to Gabbard, he wrote: "I understand that the left-wing elites on both sides of the Atlantic detest the AfD, but the AfD's program has resonated with many Germans. This is not surprising, since an agenda with strong borders, energy independence, and economic growth appeals to our own electorate, and perhaps other Western democracies. Instead of trying to undermine the AfD with the means of authoritarian states, the new German government would be better advised to think about why the AfD continues to gain ground in the elections and how the German government can respond to the legitimate concerns of its citizens."

Until the German government treats the AfD as a legitimate opposition party and not as a "right-wing extremist organization," according to Cotton, the American intelligence services should 1. interrupt the exchange of information with the BfV that could be used to fight the AfD, 2. reject requests from the BfV for support in monitoring the AfD and its members, and 3. whether our intelligence services under the Biden administration cooperated with German requests to monitor the AfD or other opposition parties and inform the Senate of the results of the review.

Merz had called on the US on Wednesday to stop interfering in German domestic politics. "In any case, we have largely stayed out of the American election campaign in recent years – and this applies to me in any case. Conversely, I also ask you to accept [...] how we deal with parties that are classified as right-wing extremist by the intelligence services, for example," he told Welt.














Source: NIUS.de