Influence and Results
Before 2001, the Netherlands had the largest absolute number of wiretaps in the world.
The service's focus on leftist activism is legendary; leftist activists exhibit great measures of paranoia relating to the service's activities, whether real or imaginary. This focus on leftist, rather than right-wing or Islamic organizations, is a legacy from the Cold War and historical threats posed by RaRa, the Red Army Faction, and such. Some substance was lent to such paranoia by the confirmation that the Marxist-Leninist Party of the Netherlands was a fake organization set up and entirely controlled by the security service.
It is likely that the AIVD has significant influence in police and prosecution circles, given recent cases where suspected terrorists were prosecuted (and found not guilty) or successfully extradited (Mullah Krekar) without credible non-secret evidence.
Today the AIVD is believed to be one of the most effective secret services of Europe, although there is little known about the AIVD.
Read more about this topic: General Intelligence And Security Service
Famous quotes containing the words influence and/or results:
“The woman who can’t influence her husband to vote the way she wants ought to be ashamed of herself.”
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)
“The restlessness that comes upon girls upon summer evenings results in lasting trouble unless it is speedily controlled. The right kind of man does not look for a wife on the streets, and the right kind of girl waits till the man comes to her home for her.”
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