In 1977, an event occurred in Turkish political history that is now largely forgotten. Sabahattin Savaşman, who served as the Deputy Director of Intelligence at the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and was known as the "3rd Man of MİT," was arrested on espionage charges. This event took place during a time when the country's political scene was still influenced by the aftermath of the 1960 coup and the social and political turmoil of the 1970s. The National Intelligence Organization had undergone a transformation in just a short period of 12 years, and under the shadow of this event, traces of both the domestic turmoil in Turkey at the time and the influence of the United States were visible. This event created a significant impact and heightened paranoia against the United States.
Ali Burak Darıcılı, an academic and intelligence expert who served within the National Intelligence Organization for nearly 15 years, discussed the details of this largely forgotten covert operation in a recent episode on GZT. He delved into the inner workings of the operation, the information Savaşman was trying to obtain, the sensitive and intricate operation conducted before Savaşman's capture, the subsequent processes, and examined a few qualities that an intelligence agent should possess. In this enjoyable on-site interview, Ali Burak Darıcılı provided us with the details of the Sabahattin Savaşman operation.
In this episode, we had the opportunity to delve a bit deeper into the National Intelligence Organization. Enjoy watching!