The mini-war with Turkey is just around the corner if "Greece does not leave aside its begging syndrome", as Professor George Margaritis noted on SLPress a few months ago. At the same time, Greece must stop invoking international law, as if it were the uncle from America! Turkey also invokes international law. Why am I saying this?
Greece could invoke international law everyday since it is 100% on its side, but because we know the deficits of international institutions and as we are constantly threatened militarily, if necessary, we will defend it with weapons to the extent required. For some analysts, asymmetric neo-Ottoman aggression is understood only by actions.
And a shy Turkey is already "shooting" in the face Thucydides, Aristotle and Sappho and their distant "descendants": Constantine XI Palaiologos, Kolokotronis, Lela Karagianni, Maria Callas, Kondyli, Castoriadis, George Kontogiorgis and so many others. It "shoots" us all in the face! Is it not right?
Already, while you are still reading this text, an escalating war with threats, NAVTEX, war cries and countless violations continues unabated. The voyage of Oruç Reis to the potential Greek continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) continues, as if not a day had passed!
Why do the Turks behave as if they want a mini war in the Aegean?
Why do they underestimate the military power of Greece?
Erdoğan's war thoughts
No one can rule out that a mini-war can start from a provocation or even an accident, we have already seen a mini-collision of a Turkish and a Greek frigate. The Turks, perhaps more for psychological reasons, always wanted to react, rather than provoke a war. But under the noisy Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Gray Wolf coalition partner Devlet Bahçeli, they almost fell into the pernicious trap of Thucydides.
Maybe they want to start a war and are looking for a reason. Or maybe not.
Will Turkey, which has exceeded the limits, want to challenge its fate?
We observe that Turkey is moving towards the commission of cultural and political insults. Certainly for decades, but for months now it has been accelerating.
Is a mini-war with Turkey on the table? Clearly and yes, on the part of the Turks.
Professor Panagiotis Hephaestus said: "Erdoğan thinks in terms of war".
So, should it be on our table before it's too late?
And if war is politics, the continuation of politics by other means, we must have politics and hierarchical national interests.
Well, is it not clear to the leaders of the Athenian elite that Turkey's hegemonic claims, as an unexplained syndrome, envision the change of borders, the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, the integration of the Dodecanese, and also our national disappearance?
Is the massacre of Chios in 1822, the burning of Smyrna in 1922 and the invasion of Cyprus in 1974 a lie? The most glorious part of Turkey's history is precisely these atrocities. On the other side of the Aegean, the rule has always been death marches and deportations for Armenians, Greeks, Kurds and others.
Greece needs to strengthen its power. Greece's power must never be subordinated to Turkey's military power.
The first blow as a lesson
The defense agreement with countries, such as France, is a one-way street and a power multiplier. So, should the issue of Belh @ ra frigates be raised again?
It is obvious, then, that in order to avoid the Thucydides trap by us, we need very strong deterrent measures. We are defending the status quo. And there is a subtle connection between defending myself, that is, waging war on him if I am attacked and the weighted estimates that an attack is imminent.
Therefore, we are entering into a counter-attack logic, which in Greece many people deliberately ignore.
But as Erdoğan's Turkey progresses, should there be a mini-war on the table with it, perhaps we should make a first blow, capable of giving us the upper hand in the Aegean and serving as the crucial deterrent for decades.
If the Greeks today are afraid to fight, then one day, Greece will be lost.
If Greek territory continues to be turned into "Swiss cheese", the future will be ominous for all of us. And if Hellenism retreats further, one day we will be uprooted like the Pontian Greeks.
Cyprus was mutilated because Hellenism there also retreated, while the Greek Cypriots lost on their own.
"Greeks are not joking" is the phrase that German Chancellor Angela Merkel allegedly said to the Turks on the night of Tuesday, July 22, 2020.
This phrase is the right legacy for the future. At the same time, all Greek men and women must re-evaluate what we have created in the two hundred years since the National Uprising of 1821. Then they will defend it better!
The Athenian elite (political and economic) was unlucky.
However, they still has much to learn from the proud Greek people, the Unknown Soldier and the National Benefactor.
And without a second thought, Greeks must remain united like a steel fist!
This place is our homeland and we kneel only in front of our dead, the Hundreds of Martyrs. The slogan "Freedom or Death" is as relevant today as ever. Because only in this way the case of Greece will not be lost in 21st century multipolarity.
The views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of Greek City Times.
Dimitris Eleas is a New York-based political scientist and contributes to SLPress.
