NATO has appointed former BND deputy Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven to be the alliance's first intelligence chief. The new role was created to better assess and coordinate intelligence within the alliance. The intergovernmental military alliance NATO has appointed the former deputy of Germany's BND intelligence service (Bundesnachrichtendienst), Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, to lead its intelligence gathering and coordination.
Officials said Friday that alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was appointing Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven of Germany as assistant secretary-general for intelligence and security. The new post was developed to fill a gap in NATO's assessment and collection of intelligence, which has traditionally heavily relied on the United States.
It was originally proposed as a way to improve intelligence on Russian military activities but it will also involve analyzing and sharing intelligence on terror threats. Officials said Freytag von Loringhoven was likely to focus on higher-level intelligence sharing about so-called, "Islamic State’s" strategy and operations, rather than tactical details of specific people trying to infiltrate into Europe.
