After lying relatively dormant for 20 years, Germany’s intelligence service is coming alive and showing signs that it is about to undergo a major overhaul. External crises such as instability in the Middle East and the volatile nature of Russian foreign policy, together with the surging internal threat of Islamic terrorist attacks, are driving this resurgence.

The most recent sign of the transformation of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Services (Bundesnachrichtendienst, or bnd) occurred two weeks ago when construction began on the agency’s impressive new headquarters in Berlin. At a cost of €720 million (us$920 million) the bnd’s sleek, sophisticated new facility is the largest state-sponsored construction project since World War ii.

Upon completion in 2012, the massive facility will house 4,000 bnd employees, most of whom will be transferred from present headquarters near Munich. This decision by the German government to undergo such a large and expensive project (ridiculed as unnecessary by many Germans) reveals the growing importance and attention that Germany’s leadership is giving to its intelligence agency and network of spies.

Expatica, a news source for expatriates, recently discussed the response by Otto Schily, interior minister during Gerhard Schröder’s chancellorship, to those who oppose the construction project. “He argues that when flashpoint situations arise in the world, and German citizens’ lives are endangered, the government has to react calmly, but swiftly. With the bnd located in Berlin, the lines of communication between the government and the intelligence service are likely to be more effective ….” The relocation of the bnd is intended not only to improve this one agency’s efficiency, but also that of the entire German government.

With crises surging across the globe, the demand for the German government to help manage these issues is intensifying. In the last few years, Germany has been deeply involved both politically and militarily in such key arenas as the Balkans, Afghanistan, Eastern Europe, Lebanon, Israel, and throughout Africa. The Trumpetrecently reported on the key, albeit covert role the bnd is playing between Israel and Hezbollah. Germany is a nation in demand.

The more in demand Germany becomes, all the while facing internal crises such as the threat of radical Islam, the more Berlin will rely on its Federal Intelligence Service for quality intelligence and critical strategic information.

As the world grows increasingly fragile and as Berlin confronts some potentially deadly internal security problems, watch for the German government to allocate more time, money and resources to resurrecting the infamous German spy agency.