A new piece by Jonathan Spyer looks at how Turkey is joining the list of countries that combine political strategy with military muscle, under a single banner and in a single structure.
He writes: "Turkey is the latest country to enter this crucial, if shadowy, field. The SADAT Defense Consultancy, founded on February 28, 2012 by former Brigadier General Adnan Tanriverdi, is Ankara’s instrument in this area. Its activities are testimony both to the changing nature of the Turkish state, and to the process by which power and influence are currently built and held in the Middle East."
What is SADAT?
"According to its website, the company’s mission is to ‘establish a Defensive Collaboration and Defensive Industrial Cooperation among Islamic Countries to help Islamic World take the place where it merits among Super Powers by providing Consultancy and Training Services.’"
The article continues: "SADAT’s founder Adnan Tanriverdi is an artillery officer who later specialized in asymmetric warfare. A former head of the Home Front Command in Northern Cyprus, he was expelled from the army because of his Islamist convictions in 1997. Tanriverdi’s ties to President Recep Tayepp Erdogan and the circles of the ruling AKP are of long standing."
Click here to read the full piece