Recently, I have been involved in discussions surrounding American political parties and Greek issues. It remains my position based on historical and political factors that Greece and Cyprus were better off in the long term under the Trump administration. Trump is not necessarily a Republican.
Historically, both the Republicans and the Democrats have been staunchly pro Turkish because ultimately the foreign policy apparatus dictates to the administrations of both parties what the policies toward Greece and Turkey should be. For example, the Eisenhower administration did nothing to punish Turkey in the aftermath of the anti Greek pogroms of 1955. In fact, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles threatened to cut off aid to Greece if Athens did not back down.
It is also true that the Nixon administration and notorious Secretary of State Henry Kissinger instigated the invasion of Cyprus in 1974. In 2004, the Bush-Cheney administration attempted to pressure Cyprus into accepting the Annan Plan. There we have the record of the Republicans.
With regard to the Democrats. In 1965, the Johnson administration attempted to pressure the Greek government into signing an agreement that would have forced Cyprus to keep a Turkish base on the island and would have forced Greece to cede the island of Castellorizo to the Turks.
In 1978, the Carter administration lifted the Congressional Arms embargo on Turkey that Congress had imposed in 1974. In 1992, Presidential Candidate Bill Clinton promised not recognize the country of FYROM as Macedonia. In early 1994, he broke that promise. On January 31, 1996 Undersecretary of State Richard Holbrooke pressured Greece to withdraw from the islet of Imia that maps showed were part of Greece.
Furthermore, in August 1996 the Turks murdered Solomos Solomou and Tasos Isaac in Cyprus and the Clinton administration did nothing to punish Turkey. Therefore, the idea that the Democrats are pro Greek is pure myth. Democrats make promises to the Greeks that they always break.
President Donald Trump was far from perfect in terms of policies toward Greece and Turkey. However, the America first policies that the former President championed were preferable for Greece because the former President was opposed to further American participation in foreign wars. Trump differed from both Democratic and Republican Presidents because he did not believe in the propaganda that all American Presidents traditionally believe in.
Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden all believe in the myth that America has a mission to spread democracy around the world. The gullibility of the average President has been destructive in terms of the wars it has unleashed. No better example of an ignorant President duped by the foreign policy establishment exists than George W. Bush.
As long as American policymakers are looking to wage more wars, Turkey will increase in strategic importance to the United States. Now the new Democratic administration has made Russia into an enemy. This will inevitably lead to greater American dependence on Turkey.
American pro Turkish policies during the twentieth century were preceded by the pro Ottoman policies of the British Empire during the nineteenth century. Untangling this long entrenched policy may take some time. President Donald Trump’s policies were a start to undoing the historic pro Turkish policies of the west.
To begin with, Trump was pro Russian. It is of extreme importance for Greece and Cyprus that the anti Russian hysteria ends. An America reconciled with Russia will decrease dependence on Turkey. Now, Donald Trump did not campaign in 2016 on a pro Greek plat form. But, his policies were beneficial because his administration unlike virtually all previous administration going back sixty years did not pressure or bully Greece into making concessions to Turkey in any form.
For example, during the summer of 2020 Turkey sent ships to drill for oil near Greek islands. On at least two occasions, Athens successfully chased the Turks away. The New York Times ran an editorial slamming the Trump administration and compared this administration unfavorably to the Clinton administrations mediation during the Imia affair of January 31, 1996.
The Times ignores the fact the Imia “settlement” was reached to the disadvantage of Greece which was pressured to give up an islet that was Greek. For the interests of Greece, the lack of intervention on the part of the Trump administration was to the benefit of Greece as the Greeks were not compelled to renounce their own territorial rights and continue to fight to this day to counter Turkish aggression.
Another way in which the Trump administration was helpful to Greece was in pursuing detente with Russia. In 2015, under the Obama administration Turkey shot down a Russian plane. One has to wonder what would have happened under President Donald Trump? Would the pro Russian Trump sought to protect Turkey or would he with his America first policy have stayed on the sidelines and permitted the Russians to punish Turkey?
As of this writing, the Putin-Biden summit has ended. Some reports indicate that President Biden moderated his stance toward Russia and perhaps will work with the Russians for better relations. Such a stance would be most welcome. If Moscow does not have to fear NATO encroachments on its borders then perhaps the Russians will not be compelled to support Turkey?
Russian and Turkish interests are not compatible. The Russians have admittedly disappointed the Greeks up to now, and they did not support the Armenians after the aggressive war instigated by Azerbaijan. Armenia, Greece, and Cyprus face existential threats and a cold war between Washington and Moscow will put them in greater danger if the two great powers end up competing for Turkey’s support.
The future of Greece and Cyprus should not depend on the support of politicians of either party. Politicians will say whatever they need to get money and votes from the Greek community. The key to getting support for Greece and Cyprus lies with getting support from the foreign policy establishment, and that will be extremely difficult.
What Greece needed was an updated version of the Megali Idea. A political ideology based on the defense of all Greek and Cypriot territory. Greece has failed to exploit the Erdogan government’s collaboration with ISIS and its emergence as the future center of the next Caliphate. The problems that Greece and Cyprus face are immense and will not be solved by participation in mere partisan politics and loyalty to one or another political party.
There is a great deal of thinking to do in how to dislodge the ongoing western support for Turkey. One step is for Greeks to support the anti war movement that has taken hold in the Republican Party. War means being pro Turkish. Anti war means reform of traditional foreign policy.
While there are no guarantees as to what anti war politics would do for Greece and Cyprus, it would likely be better than the ongoing warmongering policies pursued by both the Democrats and the neocon controlled Republican Party in the past.