Intelligence as Covert Statecraft: The OSS, CIA’s Predecessor, in Neutral Turkey, 1939-1945

Murat Toman

doi:10.24186/vakanuvis.1794582

TR EN

Abstract

Dış Politika Aracı Olarak İstihbarat: İkinci Dünya Savaşı Döneminde Tarafsız Türkiye’de CIA’nın Öncülü OSS’nin Operasyonları

Abstract

İkinci Dünya Savaşı sırasında ABD Stratejik Servisler Ofisi (OSS), tarafsız Türkiye’de Mihver faaliyetlerini izlemek, Almanya’nın stratejik hammaddelere erişimini sınırlamak ve Ankara’nın savaş dönemi tercihlerine etki etmek amacıyla daha geniş Müttefik stratejisinin bir parçası olarak faaliyet gösterdi. Bu makale, 1942-1945 arasında OSS’nin istihbarat toplama, irtibat ve örtülü operasyon faaliyetlerinin diplomasi ve ekonomik savaş ile nasıl kesiştiğini inceler. Yöntem olarak çalışma, DOGWOOD ağı ile Mayıs 1944 Evros/Meriç köprü sabotajını süreç izleme yoluyla inceleyen ve OSS kayıtlarını, FRUS ciltlerini, İngiliz parlamento tutanaklarını ve dönemin Türk gazetelerini karşılaştıran nitel bir tarihsel vaka incelemesine dayanır. Bulgular, istihbaratın savaş dönemi Türkiye’sinde diplomasiye yalnızca eşlik eden tali bir unsur olmadığını göstermektedir. OSS raporlaması Alman-Türk pazarlığına ilişkin Müttefik bilgisini güçlendirmiş, krom ihracatı ve ulaşım hatları üzerindeki baskıyı keskinleştirmiş ve sınırlı durumlarda inkâr edilebilir operasyonlarla diplomatik baskıyı tamamlamıştır. Bununla birlikte Türk karar alıcılar Müttefik istihbaratıyla seçici ve araçsal biçimde iş birliği yaparak resmî tarafsızlığı korumaya ve pazarlık alanını genişletmeye çalışmıştır. Çalışma, OSS faaliyetlerinin Türkiye’nin geç savaş dönemi yönelişini tek başına belirlemediği, ancak kritik anlarda Müttefik kaldıraç gücünü artırdığı yönünde sınırlı bir nedensel iddiayı desteklemektedir.

Keywords

Intelligence as Covert Statecraft: The OSS, CIA’s Predecessor, in Neutral Turkey, 1939-1945

Abstract

During the Second World War, the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) operated in neutral Turkey within a wider Allied effort to monitor Axis activity, limit German access to strategic materials, and influence Ankara's wartime choices. This article examines how OSS collection, liaison, and covert action interacted with diplomacy and economic warfare between 1942 and 1945. Methodologically, it uses a qualitative historical case study that process-traces two critical episodes, the DOGWOOD network and the May 1944 Evros sabotage, and triangulates OSS files, Foreign Relations of the United States volumes, British parliamentary debates, and Turkish newspapers. The article argues that intelligence in wartime Turkey was not merely ancillary to diplomacy. Rather, it supplied decision-relevant information on German-Turkish bargaining, sharpened Allied pressure over chrome exports and transport corridors, and, in limited instances, complemented diplomatic coercion through deniable operations. Turkish officials, however, cooperated selectively and instrumentally, using liaison to preserve formal neutrality and widen Ankara's bargaining room. The findings therefore support a bounded causal claim: OSS activity did not by itself determine Turkey's late-war realignment, but it increased Allied leverage at decisive moments and formed part of a broader repertoire of wartime statecraft.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

This study was conducted in full compliance with academic ethical standards. It is based exclusively on historical and publicly available sources, with no human participants or sensitive personal data involved. All materials are cited with integrity, ensuring transparency, accuracy, and respect for scholarly conventions.

Thanks

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the editorial board of Vakunivist Journal for their careful consideration and support in facilitating the publication of this article.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

History of The Republic of Turkiye, General Turkish History (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Murat Toman ^*
0000-0002-4698-7520
Türkiye

Publication Date

March 31, 2026

Submission Date

October 1, 2025

Acceptance Date

March 29, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 11 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.24186/vakanuvis.1794582

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA79SC48YL

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Toman, M. (2026). Intelligence as Covert Statecraft: The OSS, CIA’s Predecessor, in Neutral Turkey, 1939-1945. Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi, 11(1), 752-782. https://doi.org/10.24186/vakanuvis.1794582

AMA

1.Toman M. Intelligence as Covert Statecraft: The OSS, CIA’s Predecessor, in Neutral Turkey, 1939-1945. VAKANUVIS. 2026;11(1):752-782. doi:10.24186/vakanuvis.1794582

Chicago

Toman, Murat. 2026. “Intelligence As Covert Statecraft: The OSS, CIA’s Predecessor, in Neutral Turkey, 1939-1945”. Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 11 (1): 752-82. https://doi.org/10.24186/vakanuvis.1794582.

EndNote

Toman M (March 1, 2026) Intelligence as Covert Statecraft: The OSS, CIA’s Predecessor, in Neutral Turkey, 1939-1945. Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 11 1 752–782.

IEEE

[1]M. Toman, “Intelligence as Covert Statecraft: The OSS, CIA’s Predecessor, in Neutral Turkey, 1939-1945”, VAKANUVIS, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 752–782, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.24186/vakanuvis.1794582.

ISNAD

Toman, Murat. “Intelligence As Covert Statecraft: The OSS, CIA’s Predecessor, in Neutral Turkey, 1939-1945”. Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 11/1 (March 1, 2026): 752-782. https://doi.org/10.24186/vakanuvis.1794582.

JAMA

1.Toman M. Intelligence as Covert Statecraft: The OSS, CIA’s Predecessor, in Neutral Turkey, 1939-1945. VAKANUVIS. 2026;11:752–782.

MLA

Toman, Murat. “Intelligence As Covert Statecraft: The OSS, CIA’s Predecessor, in Neutral Turkey, 1939-1945”. Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi, vol. 11, no. 1, Mar. 2026, pp. 752-8, doi:10.24186/vakanuvis.1794582.

Vancouver

1.Murat Toman. Intelligence as Covert Statecraft: The OSS, CIA’s Predecessor, in Neutral Turkey, 1939-1945. VAKANUVIS. 2026 Mar. 1;11(1):752-8. doi:10.24186/vakanuvis.1794582

Cited By

Turkist-Turanist Nationalism under Pressure: State Repression and Ideological Resilience in Wartime Turkey (1939–1945)

Journal of International Eastern European Studies

https://doi.org/10.59839/jiees.1958791