Turkey's Intelligence Community in Changing Times

Abstract

It can be argued that Turkey's geostrategic importance not diminished with the end of the Cold War. Whereas a decade and a half ago it directly faced, and was preoccupied with, the Soviet threat, Turkey now a stake in the political, economic, and security developments of southeastern Europe, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and the Caspian Basin. Pursuing its interests in each of these regions and beyond, Turkey has become a more assertive and independent actor on the international stage.1Issues of current international concern to Turkey are many and are as diversified as ever, ranging from traditional security threats from neighbouring countries or terrorists, to energy supplies vital for its security, economic achievements and their geographical routing, or foreign perceptions of its respect for human rights. In many respects, it was easier for Turkish politicians, policy planners, and defence and intelligence analysts to figure the country's exact place and role in world affairs during the Cold War than it is now. While they could afford to focus their resources on a few key security problems, such as the Soviet military threat and left-wing and ethnonationalist/separatist terrorism, they no longer have this luxury. Now they must worry about current and future developments in Iran, Iraq, Syria, the Caucasus, and central Asia, and the policies adopted vis-a-vis their country by the European Union (EU) or traditional allies such as the United States, a major assistance provider. This new situation is particularly challenging to Turkey's intelligence community, which must answer more requirements than ever before, while adjusting to Turkey's continuing evolution as a Muslim country with a secular democratic system and aspirations to membership in the EU.A hotbed of intelligence activities during the Second World War and an attractive intelligence centre for western intelligence agencies targeting the Soviet Union during the Cold War,2 Turkey no longer the same intelligence value and is in fact understudied by students of intelligence. But Turkey is far from being the only country in this category. While the field of intelligence studies is vibrant and expanding in the wake of the terrorist attacks against the United States on 11 September 2001, very little is being written about the intelligence systems of countries like Turkey and its neighbours, and even less on a comparative basis. This article will attempt to develop a base of knowledge on Turkey's intelligence community from the few publicly accessible sources that do exist, in the belief that the community plays a significant role in state affairs and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. In doing so, it will first discuss Turkey's intelligence system, then elaborate on that country's intelligence requirements, explore the nature and extent of Turkey's intelligence relationships, and, to conclude, offer some thoughts on where the community is headed.TURKEY'S INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITYTurkish governments since the foundation of the republic by Ataturk in 1923 have placed a lot of emphasis on securing the state from its external and internal enemies, real or imagined. Thus, it would not be surprising to find out that the country a well-developed, experienced, and relatively efficient intelligence apparatus. While it is dominated by the National Intelligence Organization (Milli Istihbarat Teskilati-MIT), which a broad mandate both at home and abroad to gather intelligence related to national security, it is equally well served by intelligence organizations focused on criminal and security intelligence gathering at home, such as the General Directorate of Security (Emniyet Genel Mudurlugu-EGM).The work of Turkey's intelligence organizations is, at least in theory, coordinated by a National Intelligence Coordination Board, presided over by the MIT undersecretary, which was established when law no. 2937 took effect on 1 January 1984. …