US intelligence-sharing against terror not really ‘real-time,’ evidence shows

MHP Adana deputy Kürşat Atılgan, a longtime major general in the Turkish Air Forces, said the real-time nature of the intelligence is overly exaggerated.

It is believed that real-time intelligence is provided immediately. This is not how it works. The US does not provide raw footage, it submits filtered images,” Atılgan said. Nearly 260 PKK members have reportedly been killed during air strikes thanks to the US’ real-time intelligence sharing.

Political sources said intelligence-sharing, which previously could only be provided with a 24-hour lag, is now being provided in 45 minutes due to negotiations between Turkish authorities and their American counterparts. However, 45 minutes is not enough for the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to hit moving targets. Because of this, fighter planes and helicopters in Diyarbakır and Batman must stay ready all the time to effectively hit moving targets.

Those air forces not on a constant state of high alert need at least an hour to be ready to take off. Even if the location of moving targets is detected, at least two hours are required to be ready -- enough time for terrorists to escape and hide.

Atılgan, who served as a pilot in many similar operations in the past, notes that the intelligence provided to Turkey by the US does not allow the military to hit moving targets. “Real-time intelligence is significant. But American intelligence-sharing is not enough. The fact that American intelligence is not enough was revealed in the Aktütün attack in 2008. The biggest problem is that the US does not provide the raw images that its intelligence planes record.

The images are transmitted to General Staff headquarters with a 45-minute delay and then transferred to Diyarbakır or Batman to scramble the air force against the terrorists. It takes two or sometimes three-and-a-half hours for the air forces to take off and attack targets. This in turn makes it easier for moving terrorists to escape and hide,” the former pilot said.

Turkey has fought the terrorist PKK since it was formed in 1984 with the goal of establishing an autonomous Kurdish state in the eastern and southeastern parts of Turkey. More than 40,000 soldiers and civilians have been killed in the clashes thus far. The PKK has been declared a terrorist organization by the international community, including the US and the EU.

The United States has shared intelligence with Turkey since 2007, and former Chief of General Staff retired Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt once praised this intelligence sharing, saying that the intelligence on PKK movements and camps resembled the footage available of the reality TV show “Big Brother.”

Büyükanıt’s remarks were met with criticism by all opposition parties, particularly former Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal. The aptness of this reaction was proved on Oct. 3, 2008, when the Aktütün outpost on the Turkish-Iraq border was attacked by 350 PKK terrorists, leaving 17 soldiers dead.

The Taraf daily published shocking evidence on Oct. 13 of that year that security flaws played a large role in the deaths of the 17 soldiers. Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, surrounded by high-ranking commanders during a press briefing, did not respond to questions raised by Taraf but lashed out at the media for publishing classified information, saying this was “an attack” on the military, on Oct. 28, 2008. He also said the military was taking legal action over the leak of reports on the attack of Oct. 3 on the Aktütün outpost. Although the probe was concluded, its findings have never been publicly announced.

Today’s Zaman has learned from political sources that the TSK has organized operations against the terrorists without finding any, raising the eyebrows of Turkish intelligence agencies, too.

It was revealed that images provided to Turkey were not live clips; rather, they were provided with a six-hour delay.

In fact, a deal reached with the US on real-time intelligence sharing did not initially include providing live intelligence to Turkey. The images were originally submitted to Turkey with a 24-hour delay, which was then reduced to six hours. Turkish intelligence units understood that the intelligence was filtered before it was handed out to Turkish authorities subsequent to the Aktütün attack.

To remedy this situation, Turkish officials restarted negotiations with the US to obtain intelligence images more quickly. As a result of closed-door talks, the US has started to provide intelligence with a 45-minute delay. After this change, images showing Turkish fighter planes hitting PKK camps in northern Iraq were unveiled by General Staff.

Considering the weaknesses it perceives in intelligence shared by the US, the General Staff started preparations to obtain its own unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). It decided to purchase 10 Heron UAVs from Israel in 2007 but only one or two of them have been delivered to Turkey due to delays and a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel.

Despite issues with Turkey’s first Israel-made UAVs during trial flights in Batman, the TSK was for the first time able to get its own images of northern Iraq. As a result of this, Turkey detected intelligence weaknesses in the intelligence provided by the US.

Some rumors said that the biggest problem with the Herons was that some hackers affiliated with the PKK had reportedly acquired the Heron software programs. In security operations in 13 cities and provinces including İstanbul and Diyarbakır, 13 PKK members were arrested for allegedly working on a program that would make the Herons crash. Turkish security forces are figuring out where these hackers received their computing education -- there are rumors that some of them were educated in Greece and in Israel but they have yet to be confirmed. These reports also damaged the trust of the TSK in the Herons. The crash of even one Heron during operations is a cause of concern for the military.