By H.A.L.K. (Hellenic American Eeadership Council)
In her response, Dempsey noted that “the first camp said Greece had to maintain its high levels of defense expenditure because of Turkey. The region, claim the respondents, was far from stable because of Turkey’s intentions (they were never fully explained).” She would then try to put a nail in this critique by declaring “Greece’s relations with Turkey have improved immeasurably since the late 1990s.”
One of the more unfortunate trends in American foreign policy is the contempt with which many members of its establishment – especially in the think tank community – treat Greek foreign policy issues. These foreign policy elites have over the years become convinced that Turkey is the only indispensable ally in the region and almost without exception view every Greco-Turkish issue in the light most favorable to Turkey. This attitude of “Turkey is more important to the U.S., so to hell with Greece’s concerns” makes one recall President Lyndon Johnson’s admonition to Greece’s ambassador to the United States in 1963:
#@%$ your Parliament and your Constitution. America is an elephant. Cyprus is a flea. Greece is a flea. If those two fleas continue itching the elephant they may just get whacked by the elephants trunk. Whacked good….We pay a lot of good American dollars to the Greeks, Mr. Ambassador. If your Prime Minister gives me talk about Democracy, Parliament and Constitutions, he, his Parliament and his Constitution may not last very long.
Unfortunately, Dempsey exhibits the same disregard for these issues. She takes a subtle swipe at her critics for “never fully explain[ing]” Turkish policies and intentions that affect Greek defense spending. Perhaps these critics assumed that Ms. Dempsey and all “experts” in Europe would be well versed on long standing issues in the region. For example, did Ms. Dempsey really need those who were commenting on the blog to remind her of the active casus belli threat against Greece declared by the Turkish Grand National Assembly? Is the Carnegie Endowment unaware of the repeated violations of Greek airspace by Turkish military aircraft (including flights over inhabited Greek islands)? These are not fringe news items. Indeed, they are considered serious enough by the European Parliament that they were addressed in its Progress Report on Turkey.
On to Cyprus. Dempsey explains away concerns over Turkish policy on Cyprus with this: “Any mention of Cyprus must include the fact that it was the Greek Cypriots who rejected the UN peace deal. The Turkish Cypriots voted for it. That was a courageous step by the Turkish Cypriots. Unfortunately, it went nowhere.” O.K. Ms. Dempsey, Greek-Cypriots voted against Annan. How does that explain 40,000 occupation troops holding an area the size of Rhode Island? How does that justify the threat of force against the Republic of Cyprus for trying to develop its natural resources? The stated concern for Turkish Cypriots didn’t include an analysis of the complaints by Turkish-Cypriot politicians (including their previous community leader, Mehmet Talat) that Turkey is treating them as subservient and in effect colonizing them. Dempsey’s insinuation that the Republic of Cyprus is what is holding up Turkey’s progress with the E.U. is convenient, but doesn’t match reality considering the former French President’s strident opposition to such “progress” and deficiencies noted in the aforementioned European Parliament report.
The good news is that there is a way to address these serious concerns for Greece and Cyprus AND to lower defense spending. The United States must follow the European Parliament’s lead and pressure Turkey not to violate Greek airspace, recognize Greece’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and cease interference with the Republic of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone. All of these issues have a direct and immediate impact on defense spending and the orientation of the armed forces of all three countries. Such U.S. pressure would not only allow Greece to cut defense spending, but would result in Turkey committing its forces to places where the Western alliance has true security threats, just as General Dempsey is urging them to do. A peace dividend that helps Greece’s budget, substantially reduces tensions in the region, and advances Turkey’s European aspirations is within sight. Yet it requires the U.S. being honest with its ally in Ankara rather than covering up for it.
From: http://greekcurrent.com/
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