CIA activities in Turkey

Throughout the Cold War, the U.S. conducted operations focused on subverting communism in Turkey, executed chiefly through Operation Gladio's Turkish extension, the Counter-Guerrilla.

Reconnaissance
U-2 reconnaissance flights flew from Incirlik in Turkey since the 1950s. The U-2 flown by Francis Gary Powers and shot down over the Soviet Union in May 1960, departed from Turkey.

Recruitment
During the Cold War, an important asset was the Counter-Guerrilla, and the Grey Wolves; the paramilitary youth branch of the Nationalist Movement Party. Before the death of Counter-Guerrilla Alparslan Türkeş, the far-right paramilitary Grey Wolves were used to attack leftists.

The CIA also maintains a cadre of moles inside the National Intelligence Organization, as acknowledged in 1977 by its former deputy director—and CIA recruit—Sabahattin Savasman.