Why Trump sent CIA Director Gina Haspel to Turkey
by Tom Rogan
| October 23, 2018 04:24 PM
President Trump's decision to send CIA Director Gina Haspel to Turkey should not come as a surprise. It simply reflects a best use of Haspel's experience and professional skills to understand Turkey's investigation into the Saudi government's murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
From the Trump administration's perspective, it's not enough simply to gather intelligence on what the Saudis did and what the Turks say the Saudis did. The latter concern is particularly important in the context of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's less-than-wholly-objective interests regarding the Khashoggi incident. But Haspel is best placed to address these concerns.
First off, Haspel has the personal experience. Stationed in Turkey at least twice during her earlier career with the CIA, Haspel speaks Turkish and has a respectful relationship with Turkey's capable primary intelligence service, the MiT. And personal relationships matter greatly in intelligence matters. Specifically, though, the MiT's physical access to the Saudi consulate via various bugging operations almost certainly has given Turkey boutique intelligence material on Khashoggi. Getting access to whatever the Turkish know is crucial for the U.S.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/why-trump-sent-cia-director-gina-haspel-to-turkey
