Graham E. Fuller
Graham E. Fuller was born on the 28th of November 1937 in the United States. He entered Harvard University to study Russian and Middle Eastern studies. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree there before securing a Master of Arts degree in the same fields. This academic foundation provided him with essential language skills for his future career. Fuller learned to speak Turkish, Arabic, Farsi, Russian, and Chinese during his early years. He also mastered French, German, and Spanish later in life. These linguistic abilities prepared him for intelligence work that required deep cultural understanding across diverse regions.
Fuller joined the State Department of the United States after completing his education at Harvard. He entered the Foreign Service for assignments spanning Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He then served twenty years as an operations officer within the Central Intelligence Agency. His postings included Germany, Turkey, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, North Yemen, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong. He held the position of Kabul CIA Station Chief until 1978. That year he returned to CIA headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was appointed National Intelligence Officer for Near East and South Asia in 1982. By 1986, the agency named him vice-chairman of the National Intelligence Council.
In 1985, Fuller wrote a study document attributed to him by the New York Times. This text became instrumental in the decision of the Reagan Administration to secretly contact leaders in Iran. The report suggested the Soviet Union could influence Iran and that selling arms might gain U.S. leverage. This policy eventually led to the covert sale of weapons to Tehran during the Iran-Contra affair. Fuller stated he revised his opinion as events unfolded but did not circulate a written report on the change. He denied that the original think piece prepared with Howard Teicher was tailored to support administration policy. The document remained a point of contention regarding government actions taken between 1985 and 1987.
Fuller left the CIA in 1988 to join the RAND Corporation as a senior political scientist. He worked there until 2000 while writing publications on political Islam and Muslim geopolitics. In 2002, he emigrated to Canada where he later became a Canadian citizen. He served as an adjunct history professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. He also taught at Quest University in Squamish, British Columbia. In 2012, Fuller established Bozorg Press as an indie experiment in self-publishing. The name Bozorg means large or great in Persian. His books included Turkey and the Arab Spring published in 2014 and Bear released in 2016.
On the 1st of December 2017, the Istanbul chief public prosecutor's office issued an arrest warrant for Fuller. Authorities alleged his involvement in planning the failed 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt. A wealthy Turkish national offered a reward of three million Turkish lira for help delivering Fuller to Turkey. The warrant claimed Fuller met with individuals-of-interest on Büyükada island near Istanbul on the 15th of July 2016. Fuller responded in December 2017 by stating he was addressing a group of one hundred people in western Canada that night. He declared he had not set foot in Turkey in the last five years prior to the accusation.
A 2014 interview featured Fuller making controversial statements about United States foreign policy. He stated the U.S. was one of the key creators of the Islamic State organization. He argued the destructive interventions in the Middle East and the war in Iraq were basic causes of ISIS birth. Fuller clarified that the U.S. did not plan the formation of ISIS but its actions created conditions for it. This perspective linked American military strategy directly to the emergence of extremist groups in the region. His views remained a subject of debate among political analysts and government officials throughout the 2010s.
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Common questions
When was Graham E. Fuller born and where?
Graham E. Fuller was born on the 28th of November 1937 in the United States.
What languages did Graham E. Fuller learn during his career?
Graham E. Fuller learned to speak Turkish, Arabic, Farsi, Russian, and Chinese during his early years and later mastered French, German, and Spanish.
Why did authorities issue an arrest warrant for Graham E. Fuller in 2017?
The Istanbul chief public prosecutor's office issued an arrest warrant for Graham E. Fuller on the 1st of December 2017 alleging his involvement in planning the failed 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt.
How did Graham E. Fuller respond to allegations about meeting individuals on Büyükada island?
Graham E. Fuller stated he was addressing a group of one hundred people in western Canada on the night of the alleged meeting and declared he had not set foot in Turkey in the last five years prior to the accusation.
What controversial statement did Graham E. Fuller make about the Islamic State organization in 2014?
In a 2014 interview, Graham E. Fuller stated that the U.S. was one of the key creators of the Islamic State organization because its actions created conditions for its birth.