Intelligence agency restructures itself
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 02, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, or MİT, is undergoing a comprehensive restructuring to increase its effectiveness days before its 83rd anniversary, daily Radikal reported yesterday.
The most dramatic change brings the intelligence and operations deputy undersecretariats under the same undersecretariat, and reorganizes them as internal and external intelligence departments. The Counter Intelligence department is also promoted to the same level as the Internal and External Intelligence departments. Electronic and Technical Intelligence units responsible for surveillance and tapping also climbed the hierarchical ladder to become a deputy undersecretariat.
Bringing under same roof
Restructuring will assemble MİT agents who have intelligence and operations experience under the same roof and remove ambiguities of authority for some activities, as well as duplications of efforts for the same tasks. Inter-departmental bureaucracy and tensions are also to be alleviated thanks to MİT’s new formation.
The need for change was emphasized by MİT Undersecretary Emre Taner in 2006, at the 80th anniversary of MİT’s creation Jan. 6. Turkey can not contend with a defensive stance due to strategic and geopolitical reasons, intelligence functions must be restructured to support national interests and security politics read Taner’s statement. The former MİT structure incorporated three main deputy undersecretariats for intelligence, operations, and administration. Three departments linked to the deputy undersecretary responsible for intelligence were responsible for intelligence, psychological intelligence and MİT information systems. The Pychological Intelligence department, whose task was to shape public opinion, was abolished, and its functions distributed to other units. The Information Systems unit, which tapped wires and undertook grey zone activities, was left outside the intelligence department.
Deputy undersecretariat for operations is replaced with the technical deputy undersecretariat, which now coordinates departments of information systems and electronic and technical intelligence.
Bringing under same roof
Restructuring will assemble MİT agents who have intelligence and operations experience under the same roof and remove ambiguities of authority for some activities, as well as duplications of efforts for the same tasks. Inter-departmental bureaucracy and tensions are also to be alleviated thanks to MİT’s new formation.
The need for change was emphasized by MİT Undersecretary Emre Taner in 2006, at the 80th anniversary of MİT’s creation Jan. 6. Turkey can not contend with a defensive stance due to strategic and geopolitical reasons, intelligence functions must be restructured to support national interests and security politics read Taner’s statement. The former MİT structure incorporated three main deputy undersecretariats for intelligence, operations, and administration. Three departments linked to the deputy undersecretary responsible for intelligence were responsible for intelligence, psychological intelligence and MİT information systems. The Pychological Intelligence department, whose task was to shape public opinion, was abolished, and its functions distributed to other units. The Information Systems unit, which tapped wires and undertook grey zone activities, was left outside the intelligence department.
Deputy undersecretariat for operations is replaced with the technical deputy undersecretariat, which now coordinates departments of information systems and electronic and technical intelligence.