[Icelander]

Facing the Sword and Shield of the Party and their fraternal Socialist allies are the diverse intelligence organisations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and their (sometimes) friendly neighbours and allies. The financially strapped British lay claim to having the proudest history of intelligence work and to the best tradecraft in their storied Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). The French, who gather foreign intelligence under the auspices of their Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage (SDECE) fiercely dispute that claim, with some justice, in addition to claiming expertise in direct action and commando raids utilised as a natural extension of diplomacy and statecraft. The Israelis are less than ten years old as a nation and have only a few qualified officers to cover a whole world, but few could doubt that they have the best of motivations, whether one leans towards vengeance or prevention of future harm by superior intelligence as that motivation.

The locals, as well, if only by virtue of their logistical advantages in doing the business in their backyard, are an important piece of the intelligence puzzle. The Federal Republic of Germany, or Bundesrepublik Deutschland, had been declared fully sovereign with great fanfare only the previous year. This meant, among a number of other things, that it was now responsible, in name at least, for its own defence and security. Considering the number and power of NATO military forces within the country, as well as the great numbers of spies and security officers, this was a particularly polite fiction. Nonetheless, the newly sovereign state promptly undertook to meet this challenge.

Shortly after the establishment of the state in 1949, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), or the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, was founded. This agency is responsible for ensuring the security of the West German state from external threats to their Constitution, particularly Communist infiltration from the East. Considerably more successful and experienced is Gen. Reinhard Gehlen's espionage organisation, newly re-christened Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), but still known to a lot of people by its Nazi-era appelation, Abteilung Fremde Heere Ost. Largely composed of former Nazis and high-ranking officials from the Third Reich, this organisation was both fanatically anti-Communist and had years of experience in working against the Soviet Union. The Americans, especially in the early years of occupation, relied heavily on information from their files and the cooperation of their experienced agents and analysts.

Regardless of any lack of expertise, espionage culture or history, it is nevertheless a fact that the intelligence service that can afford to throw around the most money in Berlin is the Central Intelligence Agency. The Company, as it is known to insiders, has not only one station in West Germany, but sometimes up to a half dozen. The embassy houses scores of spies, as do the military bases around the country and various safehouses. Émigré operations into the Balkans and the Ukraine, for example, all go through Germany. In fact, most of the Eastern Europe operations are either run through Germany or at least make use of resources or support from there in some way.

The heart and soul of the Company’s presence in Germany is indubitably located in Berlin, though. With working quarters for the Chief of Station in a luxurious mansion and offices all around town, some of them just a stone’s throw away from the border, Berlin Operational Base is without a doubt the pulsating heart of the Cold War. And with a pudgy digit pressed to the pulse, is the man many senior administrators of the CIA would probably claim is aptly characterised as big fat embolism choking the life out of the Company, the one, the only, Mr. William King Harvey.