JINSA Eastern Med Report Featured in CNN Greece

An American Think Tank Proposes The Transfer of US Forces from Turkey to Greece

A proposal to transfer military resources to Greece and possibly Cyprus, but also to boost support in both countries, is making the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) one of the most important think tanks in the United States
Given the situation in the eastern Mediterranean region, with Turkey ‘s ever increasing provocation, JINSA considers that there is a great need for US coordination.

The think tank notes that Athens is emerging as a “crucial geopolitical actor”, referring to “Turkey’s transformation under Recep Tayyip Erdogan from a democratic and reliable NATO partner to a pro-Russian autocracy hostile to the west,” pivotal in Ankara’s relations with its neighbors was the “discovery of considerable natural gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean”.

“These major regional developments have helped drive a fundamental reorientation of Greece’s foreign policy,” the report notes, and estimates that in Athens there is “a growing national consensus that a strong relationship with the United States should form the bedrock of Greece’s security.”

“Greece aspires to take over Ankara’s role as the southeastern bastion of Western alliance, and to become a diplomatic and economic hub interlinking Europe and other growing regional players like Israel, Cyprus and Egypt,” but adds that “Greece needs a deeper US cooperation if it is to become a platform for projecting American power and promoting regional stability.”

JINSA urges US leadership to break away from “rhetorical support” in the quadruple diplomatic fora Greece – Cyprus – Israel – Egypt, and to strengthen Greece’s ability to “defend U.S. interests”, inter alia, by “providing meaningful amounts of foreign military financing (FMF) for Greece.”
*Translated from Greek

Originally published in CNN Greece.