Sabah, Turkey
Marc 20 2009

Restructuring of intelligence agency, priority areas

Within the framework of its restructuring efforts MIT [National
Intelligence Organization] has decided to put more weight on foreign
intelligence. Ten critical fields that affect the future of the
international community will be placed under close surveillance from
the "economic, political, cultural, and demographic aspects."

MIT has redefined its priority fields in line with the daily changes
that are occurring in the global balances and it has decided to put
more weight on "foreign intelligence." MIT which is undergoing
administrative restructuring to this end has determined 10 critical
fields that affect the future of the international community. The
economic, political, cultural, and demographic developments in the
Caucasus, the Balkans, the Asia-Pacific axis, the Middle East, the
Mediterranean, the Aegean, the Black Sea, Africa, the Red Sea-Gulf of
Aden, the Caspian Basin will be placed under close surveillance. To
this end in addition to English, weight has been put on the Arabic,
Serbian, Armenian, Georgian, Hebrew, Greek, Chinese, Bulgarian,
Russian, Albanian, and Bosnian languages. In a statement he issued on
5 January 2007, MIT Undersecretary Emre Taner had asserted that
restructuring and developing intelligence functions in a way that will
support national security policies and national interests constitute
the most effective way to ensure and to protect national strength. The
10 strategic fields on which MIT puts weight are as follows:

– The Caucasus: Russia’s new strategies in the region; Georgia’s
efforts to become a NATO member; Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan ties; and
Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

– The Balkans: The tension between the states that form the Yugoslavia
Federation; Kosovo’s independence; Serbia’s and Croatia’s EU
membership processes; projects and infrastructure investments that aim
to integrate Macedonia and Albania with the EU; and Greece’s
investments in financial and telecom companies in the Balkan
countries.

– The Far East and the Asia-Pacific Axis: The increase in the
competition between the regional countries and the United States and
the EU; and in addition to the power struggle waged between China and
Japan, the terrorist movements in Afghanistan.

– The Middle East: The developments in Iraq and Lebanon; the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict; Iran’s insistence on nuclear
structuring; Syria’s regional stand; and possible government changes
in the regional emirates in the Arab peninsula.

– The Mediterranean: The Cyprus issue; energy concentration in the
Mediterranean; the agreement between Egypt and the Greek Cypriot for
the exploration of oil in the continental shelf in the Mediterranean;
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline; and the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline,

– The Aegean: Problems stemming from the Turkey-Greece FIR (civilian
aviation flight information region) line and the continental shelf.

– The Black Sea: The rich oil resources in Eastern Black Sea Region
and the exploration activities; and parallel to the energy lines, the
efforts made by countries that have shores along the Black Sea to
become active in the Black Sea.

– Africa: The possibility that the crises in Burundi, Angola, Sierra
Leone, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Congo will turn into a civil war; and
Turkey’s strategic Africa overture and the developing relations with
the countries in north Africa after the investments of Turkish
contracting and textile companies.

– The Red Sea-Gulf of Aden: Holding strategic transit routes; ensuring
the passage of oil and natural gas; and within this framework sending
frigate to Aden region.

– Central Asia and the Caspian Basin: Sharing of oil and natural gas;
the structure of the possible pipelines that will be newly
established; Russia’s overture regarding the energy regions; energy
agreements between Russia and China; and the strategies for the
exploration and marketing of oil and natural gas resources in the
Caspian basin.