CIA Agents in PKK Guise

In order to understand the ring of fire in which Turkey is located, one must first identify the arenas where different players pursue their aspirations.

The clandestine services from many nations play their games by forging influence in a country’s “capillary system.” Benefiting from excerpts collected by readers, I present to you the following information:

Acquaint yourself with the American Kurdish Information Network, an organization based in Washington and headed by Kani Gulam, aka Abdulkadir Gunduz. Born in Diyarbakir, he immigrated to Canada in 1980 under the alias Nimet Gunduz using a counterfeit passport provided by the CIA. From 1982 to 1985, he studied International Relations at Toronto University. He even represented Kurdistan in the Model United Nations there! During this period, he traveled to the U.S. six times for interviews, with the aim of entering a CIA training program.

In order to avoid exposure, he constantly changed his identity. He started living as Barry Citron, then as Serena Citron. In 1993 he took on the identity of Kani Gulam and founded AKIN under CIA orders. In order to provide aid in activities against Turkey, he was assigned two assistants who had spent their university years learning about the Kurds. Their names were Jennifer L. Carnahan and Carrie Donovan. When his identity was uncovered, he applied for asylum, and when Sen. Robert Filner took up his cause, his request was granted. Filner is of Jewish heritage and a relative of Ehud Barak.

AKIN also organized a campaign to advocate for the release of Leyla Zana. They sent a long message that was deeply critical of Turkey to President Clinton. Many senators signed this request, including Gary Ackerman (Jewish), Howard Berman (Jewish), Michael Bilirakis (Greek), Benjamin Gilman (Jewish) and Michael Pappas (Greek).*

Let’s move on to the American Kurdish Center. It was founded in 1998, and it is headed by Barbara Anne Lakeberg-Dridi, whose education on Kurdish issues in the U.S. and Norway was made possible by scholarships the CIA facilitated. She is a true expert, with fluency in English, Norwegian, German, Swedish, Arabic and Kurdish. Her duties at the American Kurdish Center include helping newly emigrated Kurds and seeking out from this group individuals suitable for CIA recruitment. She also educates English-speaking employees for U.S. firms that operate in Kurdistan. In Fairfax, Virginia, there is a library full of Kurdish-language books and a museum of Kurdish folklore and history. When this museum was opened in 1998, Mesud Barzani visited in order to thank the U.S. for its demonstration of commitment to the cause of an independent Kurdistan!

None of this information is a secret. Our country has had this information for years. So what’s been done?

Well, it looks like we can see pretty well from where we stand today that “what’s been done” is not much . . .

*Editor’s Note: Howard Berman, Michael Bilirakis, Benjamin Gilman and Michael Pappas are/were members of the U.S. House of Representatives.