‘War with Türkiye would be a disaster,’ former CIA chief warns Israel

Graham Fuller, the former head of the CIA’s Middle East division, expressed concerns over escalating tensions between Türkiye and Israel, describing potential military conflict between the two nations as catastrophic.

Former CIA official on Türkiye-Israel tensions

Speaking on the YouTube channel Dialogue Works, Fuller emphasized that the recent mutual “war” rhetoric exchanged between Ankara and Tel Aviv should ideally be interpreted as bluffing.

“I think Israel senses correctly probably that Türkiye fundamentally is not well disposed toward Israel. I mean going way back even the Erdogan government had some decent ties and blown hot and cold periodically in its relations with Israel,” Fuller said.

I would doubt that we would see the reality of a Turkish of an Israeli attack or an military engagement against Türkiye but with Netanyahu, you do not know know and the expansionist instincts within the Israeli state are still strong but certainly I mean if Israel was overstretched in reaching into Syria and reaching into Southern Lebanon even going into Beirut to become involved in Türkiye in any way would be massive overreach and I think militarily possibly disasterous.

Graham Fuller

Türkiye’s military strength highlighted

While Fuller downplayed the likelihood of direct military conflict, he noted the unpredictability of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration.

He stressed that any overreach by the Israeli military in Syria or Lebanon could inadvertently draw Türkiye into the fray.

“Türkiye’s military is a very serious force,” Fuller said, acknowledging its capability as one of the most formidable in the region. He underscored the potential consequences of Israel engaging militarily with Türkiye, which he described as a critical rival in terms of military capacity.

The Turkish military is a serious military probably, probably the most serious military opponent that Israel could face in the region in terms of military strenght. Maybe Iran also but certainly Türkiye would be formidable. So, I tend to think is bluster so far I hope, I hope it is a bluster.

Graham Fuller

Fuller, who served as a CIA operations officer for two decades, held several key intelligence roles, including stints in Türkiye, Lebanon and Afghanistan.

He also served as the national intelligence officer for Near East and South Asia in the 1980s.