It takes huge, uh, domes to run a spy agency

HARROGATE, UNITED KINGDOM – OCTOBER 30: The radar domes of RAF Menwith Hill in north Yorkshire dominate the skyline on 30 October, 2007, Harrogate, England. The base is reported to be the biggest spy base in the world. Britain recently agreed to a United States request for the RAF Menwith Hill monitoring station, also known ...

By , a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
598330_071105_menwith2_05.jpg
598330_071105_menwith2_05.jpg

HARROGATE, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 30: The radar domes of RAF Menwith Hill in north Yorkshire dominate the skyline on 30 October, 2007, Harrogate, England. The base is reported to be the biggest spy base in the world. Britain recently agreed to a United States request for the RAF Menwith Hill monitoring station, also known as the 13th field station of the US national security agency, in North Yorkshire to be used as part of its missile defence system. Dubbed 'Star Wars Bases' by anti-war and CND campaigners. The facility houses British and United States personnel. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

HARROGATE, UNITED KINGDOM – OCTOBER 30: The radar domes of RAF Menwith Hill in north Yorkshire dominate the skyline on 30 October, 2007, Harrogate, England. The base is reported to be the biggest spy base in the world. Britain recently agreed to a United States request for the RAF Menwith Hill monitoring station, also known as the 13th field station of the US national security agency, in North Yorkshire to be used as part of its missile defence system. Dubbed ‘Star Wars Bases’ by anti-war and CND campaigners. The facility houses British and United States personnel. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.

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