The CIA
backed Junta which took power in 1967 represented a reaction to the Greek left.
They established a military dictatorship which ruled Greece until 1974 when the
fiasco in Cyprus brought them down.
As the
United States made abundantly clear in the 1990's, non-compliance in Europe is
not allowed. Serbia had to find out the hard way. And interestingly once again
one of Russia's historical allies is on the ropes. The timing is also
interesting because Russia was impotent in the 1990's when NATO moved on
Serbia. Once again Russia is in a position of weakness and internal struggle.
It may not seem like that to viewers of the Western media but be sure Russia is
feeling stressed and besieged, and Putin is not happy with the present situation.
Russia's economic woes a result of oil prices and the sanctions war being waged
against Moscow have seriously compromised Putin's hold on power.
The
sanctions are never presented as an act of war in our media but that's how they
must be understood.
Retired
Greek officers are starting to speak out. They want the pro-EU and pro-NATO
position to be taken and the programme of austerity to continue. Tsipras must
either comply or go. If he doesn't get in line, will the parliament take him
down, or the military?
It's not
likely we'll return to a ban on the Beatles and the mini-skirt and the kind of
authoritarian ultra-conservative rule represented by the Junta, but Berlin,
Brussels and Washington will want to see the Greek left utterly crushed. The
reign of the Greek Colonels allowed a reaction to occur and unintentionally
facilitated PASOK founder Andreas Papandreou to eventually come to power. His
form of socialism proved a nightmare for the United States and its control of
Europe. When the Colonel's came to power in 1967, CIA agent Gust Avrakotos
(whose character appears in the film 'Charlie Wilson's War') told to the
Colonels to "shoot the motherf----- because he's going to come back to
haunt you." Well, they didn't and Andreas was able to come to power in the
early 1980's. He defied expectations by keeping Greece in NATO and didn't force
the American bases to close. That's what probably kept him alive. But he became
an agitator lambasting US policy and openly identified with its enemies.
The
embattled Tsipras does not have the kind of popular support Papandreou had in the
1980's and 90's. It is probable he won't even be allowed to play the role of
agitator. NATO membership, the EU and Eurozone membership represent security
for some nations and others are learning that it can also be a trap.
Will a Greek
exit break the Euro and harm the overall EU project? Everyone has been offering
their opinions on this point, but Berlin and Brussels won't want to risk it.
The US as usual uses Europe when convenient but also doesn't like to see them
too strong. At this moment I'm sure Washington is frustrated because on the one
hand a weak Europe is usually a good thing but with the tensions over Russia
they would rather (for the moment) see the EU as strong and united.
A military
coup would solve the problem. The die is hardly cast but if it happens, we
shouldn't be surprised.
John Perkins
also offers some interesting comments:
And
interestingly another Lew Rockwell regular Eric Margolis takes the Neoliberal
position. I usually agree with Margolis and some of the Lew Rockwell crowd when
it comes to geo-politics but I often differ when it comes to economics and how
these questions tie in with the larger issues. Margolis' concerns are valid but
in this case I don't think he gets it right. I think Perkins' insights are
probably more helpful.
Robert
Kaplan is a bit of a Neoconservative and thus not above criticism but I've
always found his writings interesting and helpful, even when I don't agree with
him. He deals with Andreas Papandreou extensively in his book 'Balkan Ghosts'
which came out in the early 1990's. Papandreou's son George currently heads
PASOK, but let's just say, he's not his father and at present seems all but
washed up.
