Spotlight | France, Russia, Syria, Turkey, United States
French security diplomacy in top gear for Syria's great game

The Intelligence Gazette
SGDSN summoned, Tracfin musical chairs, bipartisan support for OSINT, GUR in Syria, ex-French intel watchdog chief dies

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community.

FranceState adviser Claire Legras in running for SGDSN top seat

FranceShort round of musical chairs at Tracfin

United StatesRare bipartisan support for new OSINT subcommittee

SyriaGUR drone operators still helping Damascus

FranceFormer CNCTR head Serge Lasvignes has died

Syria, Ukraine
Kyiv supplying Syrian rebels with technology for their drone war

Ukraine has transferred crucial technology to help Syrian rebels wage effective drone warfare. This support proved decisive in sowing panic among the ranks of the Damascus regime's forces.

Israel, Syria
Conquered Mount Hermon becomes prize location for Israel's technical intelligence

After seizing control of the Syrian part of Mount Hermon and the surrounding area on 8 December, Israeli special forces can now install extensive SIGINT (SIGINT eavesdropping and interception) facilities there.

Iraq, Turkey
Baghdad called upon to mediate between the MIT and the PUK

Hugely concerned about the origin of the intelligence that allowed the MIT to attack the Sulaymanyah airport on 7 April, the PUK has called on Baghdad to lead the investigation. It is also hoping to calm down the increasingly tense relations between the Talabani clan and Ankara.

Syria, Turkey
Turkish and Syrian spy chiefs Hakan Fidan and Ali Mamlouk talk again at Russia's initiative

Keen to play the role of mediator between Turkey and Syria, Russia sponsored a new meeting between the spy chiefs of the two countries, which have been at daggers drawn since 2011. The results were not convincing but the meeting at least allowed Ankara and Damascus to set out their demands.

Syria, Turkey
Turkish and Syrian spymasters making furtive moves to prepare for future normalisation

Though far from singing the praises of Bashar Al Assad's regime, Ankara recognises that the regime's continued existence points to a need to restore dialogue between the two countries. Turkey's intelligence service, the MIT, is taking the first steps towards this.