Silence of the spymaster

The Turkish state?s most enigmatic figure has created such a star effect in politics that even President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is heartbroken. Hakan Fidan?s resignation from the top post in intelligence and move into politics is probably the biggest political event of 2015. And this may even overshadow the upcoming elections. Here is why.

I had a chance to meet with Fidan years ago when he was then-Prime Minister Erdo?an?s special envoy on nuclear issues and known as the ?nuclear sherpa.? We were attending the Nuclear Summit in Washington and even then he seemed to be comfortable in any government-related position. Unlike most intelligence bureaucrats or diplomats, he did not shy away from the press, nor felt uncomfortable in crowds. His easygoing but very tightlipped manner affected many foreign diplomats in Turkey.

Another striking encounter Mr. Fidan had was years later with another spymaster. His counterpart from Israel, the head of Mossad, Tamir Pardo, despite all political differences between the two countries, had arrived during the days of the Gezi Park protests. Fidan and Pardo, according to my diplomatic sources, conducted very deep and concrete conversations, mostly about Iran. ?When Turkey and Israel sit together,? my source had said, ?the big issue is always Iran. It is not Syria even in the heat of the war.? These sentences also define how the West sees Fidan as someone who knows his neighbors and adversaries.

In another article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal, former U.S. Ambassador Jim Jeffrey was quoted as saying, ?Fidan is the face of the new Middle East. We have to be able to work with him, because he gets things done. This should not mean he is a friend of the U.S., because he is not.?

Jeffrey?s words...