-Caveat Lector- Turkish Spy Agency Raises Profile By SELCAN HACAOGLU .c The Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey has raised the profile of its spy agency, sending its agents abroad to capture the leaders of the Kurdish separatist movement. The aggressiveness of the National Intelligence Organization, better known by its Turkish initials MIT, is part of a drive to show the rebels that the state will spare no effort in its drive to crush Kurdish separatists. Earlier this year, MIT agents captured Kurdish guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan in Kenya. Last year, they abducted a rebel commander in northern Iraq in a joint operation with special military forces. In July, a close Ocalan aide was apprehended in Moldova. The Turkish media say the agency's recent successes, which have received heavy publicity in the country, are a result of better training, more expertise and an increased budget. After gradually limiting the number of retired military officers in its ranks over the past 10 years, the agency has brought in more qualified civilian experts. The appointment last year of Senkal Atasagun, the first MIT agent to head the organization since it was founded in 1965, was also seen as a meaningful change. Until then, the agency was headed by outsiders - former generals and ambassadors. While still an operative in 1996, Atasagun was credited with convincing a group of hijackers to surrender after they held more than 200 passengers hostage for four days aboard a ferry in the Black Sea, according to the newspaper Sabah. Ocalan, considered Turkey's most wanted criminal, led the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in a guerrilla insurgency in southeastern Turkey. MIT agents traced him to Nairobi and abducted him in February. Ocalan was tried and sentenced to death in June on charges of treason and separatism. Some reports have suggested that the MIT owes its success to its exchange of information with other intelligence agencies, particularly the CIA and the Israeli Mossad. German intelligence expert Erich Schmidt-Eenboom said military ties, which have grown sharply during the past few years between Israel and Turkey, also had a positive impact on ties between their secret services. Some U.S. officials have said the United States provided Turkey with critical information about Ocalan's whereabouts - part of disruption tactics now used against terrorist groups worldwide. Israeli intelligence expert Yossi Melman said the Mossad and MIT have relations but that it was unlikely the Jewish state was involved in Ocalan's capture. Still, some Israeli commentators have noted that the PKK has consorted with Israel's enemies. It had operated training camps in Lebanon, and Ocalan was given refuge in Syria for years. In June, MIT operatives flew to Moldova in central Europe and captured Cevat Soysal, the Kurdish guerrilla leader known for his role in indoctrinating rebels in Romania and Moldova. While human rights groups have not spoken out publicly about the agency's activities, some have privately questioned the capture of Soysal. He had been declared a political refugee by Germany. Last year, MIT agents swooped into northern Iraq aboard a helicopter and grabbed Semdin Sakik, one of the top Kurdish rebel field commanders. The organization is also responsible for internal security and is deeply feared throughout Turkey. The agency is well known for its crackdown against leftists, including student organizations. The first Turkish secret service was established as the Ottoman Empire begin to fall apart after World War I. It aimed at combating secessionist activities. Succeeding organizations worked to push out foreign armies that occupied the country after the war. During the Cold War, the MIT worked to counter Soviet or Soviet-allied agents. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
