One of the realities of the 21st century is that spies have replaced diplomats as leading geopolitical players. A case in point comes from Al-Monitor, a reliable Mideast news site. Under Russian mediation, the Turkish and Syrian intelligence chiefs met face to face in what was the first high-level Turkish-Syrian encounter since 2011, when Turkey’s...
Tag: Hakan Fidan
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A No-Fly Zone Can Limit the Damage Caused By Turkey
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan anticipated strong criticism of Trump for withdrawing US troops and giving Turkey a green light to invade. Erdogan wasted no time after their phone call on October 8, launching air strikes the next day and deploying ground troops before Trump could change his mind. At this stage, the US should take...
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Inside Turkey’s National Intelligence Office, MIT
(From Top World Intelligence Agencies) The founder of modern-day Turkey, Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, created the country’s intelligence service in 1925. In 1985, the agency was renamed National Intelligence Office, Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı (MİT) and placed under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister’s office. MIT in the news: NBA Star Has Reason to Fear Turkey’s Intelligence Service (01/08/2019)...
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After Turkish Spy Chief’s ‘Very Unusual’ Visit, Two Flynn Associates Are Indicted
When Turkey’s intelligence chief Hakan Fidan visited Washington earlier this month, reportedly to brief Congress on the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, he came with another agenda: pressing the Trump administration to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish national whom Turkey accuses of masterminding an attempted coup in July 2016. Today, Istanbul got Washington’s answer. The Justice...