Our answers to the questions sent by the Agence France-Presse were published on the France24 news channel last week. The questions and our answers are as follows;
- SADAT's LinkedIn profile states that you aim to establish military and defense cooperation among Islamic countries, ensuring self-sufficiency. Why did you decide on this mission?
SADAT International Defense Consultancy Construction Industry and Trade Incorporated Company was established by retired military personnel from the Turkish Armed Forces. These military experts while being aware of the fact that approximately 60 UN member countries are far below international standards in defense and defense industry, assessed that providing consultancy, training and supply services in the field of defense and security to these countries would be the most influential way to evaluate their professional experience, knowledge and expertise.
Incorporation procedures, which normally take a few days when they make their official application to establish the company at the end of 2011, it took a few months to examine the legal regulations, whether it is possible to establish the company and to carry out the necessary research to keep the business within legal boundaries, and after some corrections were made in the charter of company, its establishment was approved in February 2012.
As stated in our charter of incorporation and openly announced on our website, it provides strategic consultancy, reorganization, modernization, special training and supply services to the Armed Forces and Police Forces of other countries which are recognized by UN in the field of defense and security.
Contrary to all the media reports, our company carries out know-how transfer-type technical works. In its nearly 10-year history, our company has carried out important projects.
For example, we have great experience in establishing a turn-key Military Standardization and Metrology Center and also, dozens of countries need it. Even if we work on this subject for years, we cannot spare time to do another work.
As you know, the Special Forces of the Turkish Armed Forces ranks first in the world. Transferring this knowledge and experience to countries in need is also an important branch of activity in our product range.
- Do you agree with the description by some of SADAT being Türkiye's"private army" or "secret armed forces"? Do you have your own armed military units that you send to conflict zones?
SADAT Defense has no armed force. Our company is not a security force. Our company has nothing to do with being a mercenary organization. As we have never been in conflict zones, we have no plans to take part in the future either. Our company carries out technical and high added value works in the type of know-how transfer. We do not provide subcontracting services (such as legionary services).
Should not the claimants prove their claims with evidence? If a company with a 10-year history has illegal activities, there must be financial, logistic or etc. evidence as the claimants suggest. Do not you think it is quite funny while we are having the space age, that our company cannot be proven to run global operations without leaving any trace, but to be gossip topic in the media? Do you really think we are professional enough to fool the global powers? Have we developed methods that no one else has discovered? Current situation has now turned into a conspiracy theory.
- What are your relations with the Turkish government? Some suggest you sometimes operate under the instructions of the presidency, defense ministry or MIT national intelligence agency. Is that the case, or are your operations completely independent of the state?
SADAT is an INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE, INDUSTRY, CONSTRUCTION AND TRADE incorporated company that provides CONSULTANCY to the Armed Forces and Police Forces of Friendly and Allied Muslim countries of Türkiye for the defense of their countries, providing security, TRAINING FOR THEIR PERSONNEL and equipping them with the weapons, materials and tools THEY NEED.
SADAT Inc. is a company established on behalf of our country to lead the formation of the DEFENSE AND DEFENSE INDUSTRY SERVICE SECTOR for friendly and allied countries.
In accordance with the control system placed on the production and export of defense and defense industry products, of which activities are subject to control according to national and international legislation, written in the SADAT Inc. charter established according to the Turkish Commercial Code since it complies with the provisions of the laws numbered 5201 and 5202, which are our National Legislation, these countries submits the END USER DOCUMENTS received from the countries requesting service from SADAT Inc. to the information of our Ministry of National Defense. It exports service or defense industry products after the approval. Apart from this procedure, our company does not get any assignment or support from the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Intelligence Organization (MIT) or any other institution or authority.
- What role, if any, did you play in the latest conflicts -- particularly Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh? One US State Department assessment said SADAT deployed military trainers to Tripoli to "train both GNA-aligned militias and Syrian fighters". Is that true?
Our company has never been in Syria, Libya or Azerbaijan. While there is not a single line about US companies in the various reports of the US Defense, Ministries of Foreign and UN Security Council Libya Sanctions Investigation boards, they quote some news from the media about SADAT and present them as if they were real. However, in the same reports, for example, about the activities of the Russian company Wagner, documented and photographic evidence of money transfers, logistics transfers and passport and credit card expenditure details including the names of its officers are included. If SADAT Defense really provided training to the GNA or Syrian fighters, is the US which published the evidence belong to Wagner, not publishing its documents about SADAT because it loves SADAT?
In addition, the Turkish Armed Forces has the capability to carry out cross-border operations without the need to use any outsourcing. We do not think they need to purchase such kind of service from our company.
- SADAT's LinkedIn profile also states that you provide ordinances. Could you say what types, and where the supplies come from?
SADAT Defense provides turn-key projects. Within the scope of our reorganization and modernization services, ordnance services are also required in the projects we carry out. Our services can sometimes be computer software, sometimes infrastructure equipment such as information systems. Sometimes it can be personal equipment and institutional equipment. Turkish Defense Industry companies have made significant technological advancement in the last 20 years and are producing products above international standards. In our equipment services, we give priority to the domestic products in the international market.
- Do you have a current presense in Syria? Some reports suggest that SADAT trained "Syrian proxies". Was this ever the case?
Our company does not have a past or present presence in Syria. We did not train Syrian fighters or sell weapons or ammunition. We specifically avoid being in conflict zones. Before I forget, we did not provide consultancy services for Syria.
- Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had earlier suggested that SADAT might provide contractors to help secure Kabul airport. Would you be interested in such a role? Have you had any formal discussions about this with Turkish, Afghan, Qatari, US or other officials?
We have not heard from our Minister of Foreign mentioned the name of our company in this regard. He used the expression “...Security needs to be established, especially inside the airport. There are companies that are specialized in this field. Precautions must be taken in a way that everyone can rely on, such as scanning suitcases and controlling people through the x-ray device” in a statement he made about Afghanistan. We did not think that he meant SADAT. No formal or informal request has been received from our company. We did not aspire to such a job, and we do not intend to do so in the future. Because SADAT is not a Private Security company or Private Army. However, it can provide consultancy and training services to security and military units that will ensure the security of the Airport.
- Could you list the countries for which you have provided consultancy, military training or other services? Are you looking to expand into Africa, as some reports suggest?
As you can imagine, the most private issues of states are defense and security structures. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of their security by others can cause serious problems. Therefore, first we sign nondisclosure agreements with the countries we work with. We cannot disclose which of our services we offer to which country unless disclosed by them. We operate on every continent, including Africa. Our company was established to operate internationally.
Perhaps there are questions or issues that I have not asked or raised that you would like to discuss in more detail. Please let me know what those might be. Perhaps you might be free to meet an AFP team in person? We could also set up a video interview, if you are open to the idea.
We think we have answered all your questions, but it would be useful to see the big picture. In that; the USA formed some structures in many countries during the Cold War period in the 1970s to take over the Middle East. To give an example from Türkiye, we see that some of these structures are based on ethnic discrimination, some are moderate Islamists, some are radical Islamists, and some are groups that defend communism. Fethullah Gulen, one of these US-controlled groups in Türkiye, which is pro-Dialogue Between Religions, began to place its supporters in all public institutions in the mid-1980s. When it started to be reported by the intelligence units of Türkiye, in the early 90s, work was started under the name of combating reactionaryism for the discharge of this organization from the state institutions. However, while the Gulen group, which had to be discharged, was camouflaged very successfully, on the contrary, those who were not patriotic and unorganized but refused to be included in the Gulen group were dismissed from their positions in public institutions through the state, and the vacated positions captured by Gulen group.
Founding Chairman of our company, Brigadier General Adnan Tanrıverdi, was retired in 1996 due to his refusal to join the Gulen group during that period. Adnan Tanrıverdi became the chairman of ASDER “Association of Justice Defenders” in 2004 which was founded 4 years ago, which was founded by the soldiers who were victimized due to the unjust discharge from the army.
As a result of the studies that he carried out in that period, he started to share important information with the public opinion in his articles by deciphering the structure of the Gulen group and the group in Turkish Armed Forces. Relevant institutions of the state also benefited from the information he produced. The Gulen group, which settled in the State Institutions with a parallel structuring model, was disturbed by these posts and opposed Adnan Tanrıverdi for a long time.
The Gulen group attempted to invade Türkiye under the control of the USA on July 15, 2016, and it was understood that it was a terrorist organization. Since then, it has been known as FETO/PDY (Fethullahist Terrorist Organization / Parallel State Structure). Members of this organization began to be purged from all public institutions. Appreciating the accuracy of the work carried out by retired Brigadier General Adnan Tanrıverdi until that time, our President appointed Adnan Tanrıverdi as Chief Advisor on Defense and Security issues and subsequently as a member of the Security and Foreign Policy Board of Presidency. After 2016, Türkiye has adopted the concept of fighting terrorism at its source, which Adnan Tanrıverdi has been defending this concept since he served in the Special Warfare Department in 1984. Türkiye has been conducting cross-border operations since 2016 within the scope of the Concept of Fighting Terrorism at its Source. Thanks to this concept, the USA today withdraws from Iraq and Syria and shifts its military bases to Greece and Bulgaria. As the treacherous structure within the state is cleared, Türkiye has become able to help friendly and allied countries that are waiting for its help. When you can understand the political will behind the Turkish Armed Forces, which successfully carries out operations in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan today, I think you can better understand why the countries that come from thousands of kilometers away and deem themselves entitled to use the resources of these regions spread fake news to accuse our President and his former chief adviser, Adnan Tanrıverdi.
Although Adnan Tanrıverdi in his late seventies today and has left the active duty assigned to him, he still continues to carry out civil society activities in order to gather Islamic Countries under an EU-like organization in order to contribute to global peace.
In summary, we think that factors such as Adnan Tanriverdi’s active role in changing Türkiye's Counter-Terrorism Concept, the active role he played in the discharge of FETO and the entry of SADAT International Defense Consultancy Construction Industry and Trade Incorporated Company into the field of action as an unexpected actor against the global powers with interests in the countries in the customer portfolio of the company which he founded, explain the reason for the disinformation formed against him.