On this week’s episode, investigative journalist Florian Flade joins Chris to uncover three little-known German intelligence operations from the Cold War and their aftermath: supporting the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, secretly buying Soviet weapons from demoralized troops in East Germany, and covertly shipping GDR arms to Israel. Florian explains how these missions reflected Germany’s risk-taking intelligence culture, the close ties with allies like the CIA and Mossad, and the lessons they still carry for today as modern battlefields like Ukraine become testing grounds for foreign weaponry.

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Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/florianflade.bsky.social
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Blog: https://ojihad.wordpress.com/

Florian’s reporting discussed in the episode

"When the BND Supported the Mujahideen" | Taggeshau: https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/wdr/bnd-mudschaheddin-101.html

"Summer Rain in the Hindu Kush" | Verschlusssache: https://ojihad.wordpress.com/2021/09/06/sommerregen-am-hindukusch/

"Treasures of Steel" | Verschlusssache: https://ojihad.wordpress.com/2022/12/01/schatze-aus-stahl/

"The 'Agricultural Machinery Affair'" | Verschlusssache: https://ojihad.wordpress.com/2025/08/11/die-landmaschinen-affare/

"The BND and the Yom Kippur War" | Verschlusssache: https://ojihad.wordpress.com/2022/10/06/der-bnd-und-der-jom-kippur-krieg/

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Secrets and Spies is produced by F & P LTD.
Music by Andrew R. Bird
Photos by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters

Secrets and Spies sits at the intersection of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former spies, authors, and journalists.

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