Britain has announced that Richard Moore will soon take over as the new chief of its Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6. What will this mean for MI6 and its closest foreign partner, the CIA?
For a start, Turkey-related national security issues will be in good hands. Both Moore and CIA Director Gina Haspel speak Turkish, and Moore served as British ambassador to Turkey between January 2014 and December 2017. Earlier in their careers, both Haspel and Moore served tours in Turkey as intelligence operations officers. The similarities don’t end here. Both chiefs are career intelligence officers possessing strong transatlantic links, with Haspel serving two tours as CIA station chief in London.
What more do we know of Moore?
Well, that he’s a counterterrorism specialist and friend of the current SIS chief, Alex Younger. Moore has previously served in Vietnam, Malaysia, Pakistan, Turkey, and possibly also Iran, and his recent ambassador tour reflects MI6’s subordination under the Foreign Office. This is a British distinction with the segregation between the CIA and State Department. But it’s one that carries real bureaucratic benefits: Having intelligence officers as ambassadors reduces embassy friction in high-tempo areas of intelligence activity such as Turkey. We should note, here, that Turkey is not simply important for its own geopolitical relevance, but also for Istanbul’s position as a center of foreign intelligence activity.
Why was Moore selected for the top spy job?
While he has a strong resume as an intelligence officer, Moore also impressed as ambassador. The soon-to-be chief earned positive favor in Ankara and Istanbul for his in-person and social-media engagement. Columnist Taha Meli Arvas tells me that Moore was seen as “a straight shooter even when it meant speaking inconvenient truths, while simultaneously being known as a humble guy.” Unafraid to make jokes about the British deep state, Moore once hosted an embassy event that included an Aston Martin DB10, the chosen car of James Bond. The ambassador also won positive media coverage for his public support of Istanbul soccer club, Besiktas.
This is not to say, however, that the incoming spy chief is a joker. It took great skill for Moore to maintain cordial relations with the notoriously difficult Erdogan government while being willing to push back against it where necessary. Moore has been willing, for example, to lock horns with far-right Turkish politicians.
Heading the Foreign Office’s political strategy unit over the past two and a half years, Moore earned a reputation for kindness, competence, and political impartiality. As is the case with Haspel, he is also popular with the MI6 and Foreign Office rank and file. One British diplomat applauded Moore’s MI6 appointment, “praising him as kind, wise and dedicated to public service. The best ally on diversity who has inspired and continues to inspire so many.”
There is a harder edge to the man. To his credit, and unlike some in the British government, Moore is willing to identify Russian aggression openly. While he has previously worked to save the Iran nuclear accord, Moore also appears to have a strong relationship with Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun. Alongside his intelligence experience, London will thus be confident that Moore can maintain trust with Washington. Whether President Trump is reelected or Joe Biden elected, we should expect MI6 and the CIA to boost their China cooperation under Moore’s tenure.
Ultimately, then, Moore appears to have been picked because he is a smooth public persona and skilled administrator.
