Is Obligatory Military Service Soon Over?
The Turkish Press is reporting on statements by the Turkish Generals who visited Greece, to the effect that they are offering to disarm fighter jets in the Aegean:
Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit proposed that Greek and Turkish fighter jets should stop armed flights over the Aegean Sea, to defuse military tension that led to a fatal collision last year. Buyukanit said Turkey was prepared to disarm its jets flying over the Aegean. "I cannot understand why our aircraft have to be armed," he said. "We are not enemies." (Click here for the rest)
And on Greek television I heard a reporter say that a Turkish General told him, while visiting Mustafa Kemal's childhood home in Thessaloniki, that "he does not see Greece as an enemy, and enmity is only there to serve the Americans" , sounds like something that the Communists in Greece have been saying in Greece for ages, and makes me wonder if the reporter made up the quote. In any case, Turks are traditionally duplicitous, whenever they are most warm and most chummy about how one is not their enemy, is when traditionally they are most ready to strike. Remember the old Oriental adage "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer"
My fear is that the political establishment in Greece may use these Turkish gestures as an excuse to do away with obligatory military service in Greece altogether. From the time when military service was a severe three year stint during the Aprilist-era long ago, its now been reduced to some four months of active duty. After all, the other normal EU countries have no obligatory military service at all, and those are the real masters of this day and age.
Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit proposed that Greek and Turkish fighter jets should stop armed flights over the Aegean Sea, to defuse military tension that led to a fatal collision last year. Buyukanit said Turkey was prepared to disarm its jets flying over the Aegean. "I cannot understand why our aircraft have to be armed," he said. "We are not enemies." (Click here for the rest)
And on Greek television I heard a reporter say that a Turkish General told him, while visiting Mustafa Kemal's childhood home in Thessaloniki, that "he does not see Greece as an enemy, and enmity is only there to serve the Americans" , sounds like something that the Communists in Greece have been saying in Greece for ages, and makes me wonder if the reporter made up the quote. In any case, Turks are traditionally duplicitous, whenever they are most warm and most chummy about how one is not their enemy, is when traditionally they are most ready to strike. Remember the old Oriental adage "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer"
My fear is that the political establishment in Greece may use these Turkish gestures as an excuse to do away with obligatory military service in Greece altogether. From the time when military service was a severe three year stint during the Aprilist-era long ago, its now been reduced to some four months of active duty. After all, the other normal EU countries have no obligatory military service at all, and those are the real masters of this day and age.
2 Comments:
Hi my dear Greek friend. Though I'm Iranian and it may seem that this issue must be out of my attention, but I'd like to kindly inform you that the Iranians and Greeks must face the Turkish menace much more carefully and in order to halt these Mongols from taking our lands and interests further more, we must co-operate with each other.
About the so-called "friendly" expressions by Gen. Yasar Buyukanit,like you, I don't trust him, cause I know the reason behind that. As you may know, the Turks are recently threatening the Kurdish leaders og North Iraq and are even going to invade that region. Surely they are hiding their real expansionist decisions under the old and out-dated "anti-terrorism fight", but all the informed peopel know that they just want prevent the Kurds from taking the oil-rich city of kirkuk and setting up an independent Turkmen state there. So the reason behind their recent friendly statements is their engagement in the east. Rest assured that whenever they gain a success in the east, they'll once again focus on their expansionit moves in the Aegean, Cyprus and Western Thrace. Also as an old Iranian saying advice us :" count your fingers when you shake hands with a Turk" !
Best of regards.
Buyukanit proposal sounds good for some people but they do forget something. Aegean is a Greek sea. Asking us to disarm ourselves in Aegean is like asking them to disarm themselves in Smyrna (now known as Izmir by the barbarians). Buyukanit keeps working for his country, what are we doing to protect ours?
Post a Comment
<< Home