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BND boss Kahl (in October 2023 in the Chancellery): Breakdown in summer 2022
Photo: M. Popow / Metodi Popow / IMAGO
A previously unknown security breach has occurred in the Bundestag's Afghanistan investigation committee. According to SPIEGEL information, the President of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Bruno Kahl, left documents from his service that were classified as confidential in an open meeting room in Parliament.
The committee has been investigating the chaos surrounding the German withdrawal from Afghanistan since 2022. The BND was also frequently criticized for not having noticed the Taliban coming to power in 2021 in a timely manner. Kahl has also had to explain twice why the BND was noticeably slow in allowing MPs access to its own files.
In one of these internal meetings, the intelligence chief tried to justify the delay and handed out papers that were classified "VS CONFIDENTIAL." It was about five pages that explicitly gave insight into the BND's methods.
What is tricky is that copies were left in the room at the end of the meeting. The breakdown happened in the summer of 2022. The Bundestag's Secret Protection Office is still angry today: The classification level means that disclosing these papers could have harmed the interests of the Federal Republic. The BND did not want to comment on the incident.
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