Mary Had a Little Lamb

Admitted. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I was reminded of that again yesterday when a visiting friend from Italy, whom I took for a sightseeing tour to the Acropolis said that he was so impressed that the surrounding was so clean and organised and spontaneously compared it to the city of Rome, which he claimed to be very dirty and polluted. This was exactly the opposite of my impression and recollection of the Italian capitol.

That was that. Then the news broke-in that a Greek fighter jet went down and its pilot got killed. A 34 years old captain, the father of two minors. 9 nautical miles away from the Skyros airport base upon his return from a routine interception mission of Turkish fights jets over the Aegean. Another death in vane, yet for many the fulfilment of a longstanding dark prophecy. It has been in the public domain for weeks now that a military incident between Greeks and Turks was about to happen and even Mr. Geoffrey Pyatt, the US Ambassador to Greece warned the Greek Government of such a possibility. In diplomatic terms he branded it as an "likely accident" due to the hight traffic and accumulation of forces of the two adversaries that have been set in motion on sea and in the air. In other words, it was more of a prediction that was based on statistics. Yet, this justification probably doesn't hold even with the unsuspecting and naive anymore, since both, Mr. Pyatt himself or the ever-growing military aggression of Turkey aren't by chance. Mr. Pyatt is considered to be bad news to any country of his designation and is associated in the minds of most as being the messenger of US foreign policy news and resolutions, which are affecting the country of his post.

And then, there is this growing aggression by Turkey on every level that raises concerns. Political and Military analysts have been trying intensively to decipher what this new stance of Mr. Erdogan may mean and how it translates for Greece and the broader Region. And despite the fact that the conclusions are based on historical behaviour of our neighbours from the East, it seems that history can no longer be applied as a reliable standard of interpretation. It seems that Turkey has entered into a new dogma in its own foreign policy making, which is departing from the notion of it being a new regional super-power, that needs to be acknowledged as such by its immediate neighbours, but also by the international community. Turkey's position in the region must be probably interpreted as a contributor to instability rather than the opposite. It appears that instability offers more to its current leader, who hopes to gain political volume and recognition internally and internationally. With the facade of a Democratic country Turkey is being governed the monarchy style. And as such, Turks see in their leader the new monarch and not the democratically elected President.

And this probably sits better with them. Hence, in order to serve his public image as best he can, Erdogan and his political advisers are all shooting from the hip, making arrogant statements, and indulging in provocative policy making. In the course of all of this, new alliances are entered into, old ones are being abandoned and a lot of confusion and noise is being created. All of this probably towards one single objective. To render the Sultan's presence unavoidable and to hoist him to a model of worship within the country. I read a very interesting article the other day on the subject of political opposition within Turkey and whether it stands any chance of having a safe political future. It is no secret that in malfunctioning democracies the political opposition usually ends-up either in exile or in prison. This is no different with Mr. Erdogan, who sees ghosts everywhere and organised conspiracies to de-throne him. And in the sake of his own political defence and survival he has eliminated half of its military officers, half of public servants and the cultural elite of the country. And some may say that that's his own prerogative.

In the above context, the genuine lack of leadership in Greece but also in the rest of the world comes-in very handy. No one knows how to deal with this ongoing aggression, yet everyone knows that the slightest delay in political reflexes is construed as a weakness. All the while, it seems that Turkey has it all planned-out very well and the rest of us seem like we are all caught by surprise and are unprepared to provide any sensible response to Mr. Erdogan's statements, threats and/or actions. But the main question is, can panic be an efficient form of policy making? Is unconditional submission and constant pampering of Turkey the way forward in the West-East relationships? I guess not. Us Greeks, we have become witnesses of a bad theatre play that has turned into a complete demonstration of stupidity on both ends.

A serial of ridiculous statements on both sides, one bold and irresponsible cock-fight after the other, trying to outdo each other in nonsense and immaturity. All the while, in the background of this faulty communication, Turkey is deploying an aggressive agenda of occupations in Syria and Iraq. And as she probably senses that there are some major forces behind everything that happens in the region she very cleverly engages in a pre-emptive rhetoric of aggression towards Greece, which she is preparing to trade-off for some sort of more important geopolitical gain in the Middle-East, such as the cancellation of a Kurdish State or the expansion of Turkish borders.

The new slogan employed by Mr. Erdogan now speaks about the "borders of the heart" hinting at what used to be the external borders of the Ottoman Empire while at its peak, as opposed to the physical borders of the country as they are today. And by that, he feels that Turkey has been treated badly by the international community during its recent history, which forced her to confine herself to the borders outlined in the Treaties of Lausanne and Paris. And since today Turkey appears to have risen from its ashes, shaping again into the regional superpower she once was, he feels that there is room again to factually re-write or amend those treaties by virtue of military force. Make no mistake, political arrogance always requires an outlet. Either in the form of a mass-destruction like a war, or in any other form of religious or political fanaticism. It is my feeling that we are closer to there than ever before in the last seventy years.