August 28, 1974

Greek Partisanship A Dangerous Ploy

The little boys in Congress are playing with matches again!

If they don't set fire to a third World War it will be some kind of latter-day miracle.

Greece and Turkey are at swords point, and a hundred or more solons in the House have taken sides by introducing a resolution demanding an end to all U.S. economic and military aid to Turkey.

"It is deplorable that American-made NATO weapons are being used in attacks upon a friendly nation," says the resolution.

The hypocrisy of the proposal stuns me.

I thought we had learned our lesson in Vietnam, Pakistan and the Middle East.

But, no, here we go again - bowing to emotional pressures that are both unreasoning and dangerous.

It was the Greek junta that overthrew the island's coalition government of Archbishop Makarios by military force.  The raw coup was a more serious incident in the 40-year guerilla campaign by Greek Cypriots for "enosis", or, union with Greece.

Turkey retaliated with a massive invasion of troops which in short order took the prosperous northern half of the island - driving out all Greek nationalities ahead of them.

In Greece, itself, left-wing members of the government deposed the junta and brought back Constantine Caramanlis from exile to rule by "popular decree."

His first act was to unleash a vicious anti-American propaganda campaign, blaming his country's reverses entirely on the American CIA.  He withdrew Greek troops from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and threatened to kick out American naval units based in Greek ports in accordance with NATO defense strategy.

The response by Greek radicals was immediate.

A mob on Cyprus attacked the U.S. embassy there, killing our ambassador, a Marine guard and a secretary.

The Athens newspaper "Eleftheros Kosmos" approved the assassination with the editorial observation: "The wrath of God wanted Henry Kissinger," but instead "fate decided the U.S. ambassador should be the sacrifice."

The English language newspaper "Athens News" bristled in a bold-type front-page editorial: "Fully aware of the methods used by the CIA, we warn that if a single hair of Mr. Caramanlis' head is touched, we shall know who must be held responsible."

Returning home with Caramanlis was a number of other left-wing politicians,' among them the former Foreign Minister Ionnis Zighdis who gets off an anti-American zinger daily.  "Greece was America's concentration camp," he states.  "How could we not hate the Americans."

How our Congressmen can describe Greece today as a "friendly" nation is beyond my powers of comprehension.

Also incomprehensible to me is the supine manner in which we swallow violence to our diplomats and insults to our aid.

When did Uncle Sam's backbone turn to jelly?

Cyprus is not a problem that will be solved by diplomacy It is located only 40 miles off the coast of Turkey, but 600 miles from the Greek mainland.  It is an ancient land boasting continuous civilization for six thousand years.  In the Christian era it was ruled successively by Greeks, Italians and Turks.

Great Britain leased the island from the Turks for a naval base in 1878 and annexed it as a Crown Colony when Turkey joined the Axis powers in World War I.  Agitation for Greek union began in 1931 and culminated in an agreement in 1959 for a republic of 70 percent Greek Cypriots and 30 percent Turkish Cypriots.  Neither side was satisfied with the compromise, and guerilla feuding continued almost unabated.

The Cyprus dispute - like that between Vietnamese Buddhists and Catholics, between Pakistan and India, between Israel and Arabs - is rooted in ancient animosities.

The vaunted negotiating powers of Kissinger notwithstanding, it is highly unlikely that the United States can solve what has been unsolvable in thousands of years.

I say the oil, and the military bases, and the fair-weather allies are not worth the risk of being embroiled in another sink-hole war.

Let's withhold arms from both antagonists until they come to their senses - or let's give them both plenty of ammunition so one side can wipe out the other and gain permanent control of the territory.

But whatever the policy - it is essential we be even-handed.  We didn't start it.  We have about as much to lose or gain whatever the outcome.  It is significant that the odd assortments of Congressmen co-sponsoring the anti-Turk resolution are either left-wing or represent large blocs of Greek-descent Americans.  Liberalism demands support of anti-American socialists.

The Greek ethnic vote is one of the largest partisan electorates in the United States.  Nevertheless, I am astonished at the alacrity with which all bowed to the emotional demands of their minority constituencies.

We tread on boggy ground when we cater to special interests.

And in these days of uneasiness, we need the firm footing of statesmanship rather than politics as usual.

Author: Lindsey Williams