Last year, the London-based Investigative Journal released a 161-page detailing Turkish influence operations in the US written by Dr. Ahmet S. Yayla, former chief of the Turkish National Police Counterterrorism Division. According to the Investigative Journal’s description of the report:
His report focuses on understanding the mindset of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and a look into the behind-the-scenes funding of not only Turkish but also American Muslim nonprofits in the United States. The essential analysis breaks down the strategic changes in Turkish foreign policy since 2011. It helps to explain Turkey’s deliberate drift away from the West and NATO and rapprochement with Muslim Brotherhood affiliates and other political Islamist movements. Previously on a revelatory episode of TIJ Talks, Dr. Yayla explained the extent of Turkey’s support of extremist groups during Erdogan’s rule and revealed that he had to leave Turkey in objection to Erdogan’s continuous nurturing of ISIS and Al Qaeda. Dr. Yayla is currently working as fellow at the The Program on Extremism at George Washington University. The Investigative Journal organized a conference in Washington DC on November 11th to launch the report and discuss its findings during the ongoing Turkish invasion of Syria.
The report details several of the activities and history of several organizations connected to Turkish President Erdoğan and the Turkish government operating in the US including the Diyanet and the Turkish Heritage Organization, as well as Turkish influence within US Muslim Brotherhood (part of the Global Muslim Brotherhood) groups such as the US Council of Muslim Organizations.
While the GIOR finds the report to contain much valuable information, we recommend some degree of caution as there are multiple editing mistakes as well as an over-reliance on questionable, ideologically right-wing sources.
Download the full report here.
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