The Question of U.S. Involvement in Turkish Military Coups During the Cold War: An Analysis Via Available CIA Archives

This article is an investigation of declassified archival documents of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that questions the direct involvement of several U.S. administrations in military coups in Turkey during the Cold War. Among the U.S. government institutions, it is argued that only the CIA could have had the competency for covert participation in a coup plot abroad. Other than the indirect role of the U.S. in military takeovers, due to its military and financial assistance in pre-coup periods, and the political recognition of coup regimes, available CIA documents do not present any tangible evidence for agency’s direct involvement in Turkish military coups, in contrast to its clandestine operations in other states.