Turkey ramps up war games in Greek air space
HMG does not have a position on sovereignty claims in the Aegean (sensibly most European countries and the US also follow this line); the FCO advises that both sides should seek arbitration.
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
Then Herod why this did not happened? BTW a very interesting theory that it seems it holds water!
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By your earlier post, Herod about sending in a small force, are you suggesting we should have gone to war with Turkey? Did we really have a duty to risk our soldiers lives for territory whose people not so long before conducted a sustained terrorist campaign against those same forces?
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
No, certainly not Turkey. I'm talking about before the invasion, when the Greek colonels staged what was effectively a coup, attempting to capture the Head of State (Makarias) and installing their own puppet (Sampson). Removing said (illegal) puppet and re-instating the (legal) Head of State would have re-established the Status Quo.
I agree with you and so did our government, to some degree at least, but our chums across the pond (Kissinger) had other plans.
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Really? Even though the Greek Cypriots had forcefully made the point, backed up with bombs and bullets, that they didn't want British help, most certainly not British military help, to run their affairs?
ShotOne, it would be useful to differentiate between Greek Cypriots and Greeks. From what I understand Makarios was much loved among Cypriots. The problem was mainly with the Greek government and their decision to get rid of Makarios.
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One has to be careful about glass houses and all that, especially when considering the effects that arbitrary lines on maps and the end of empire continue to have across the world.
Oh , pul-leeeese. Without a doubt, Erdogan isn't wasting the opportunity the coup attempt has given him, and he - at best - set the conditions for a coup, by announcing the intention, inter alia, to dismiss 1400 Colonels in the August YAS. But every time I hear false-flag, I scream conspira-loon!
Operation Northwoods
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
USS Liberty
Operation Gladio.
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This isn't Kissinger's fault. And neither is it a one-sided matter of aggression by Turkey. If Mexico extended its sovereignty claim the same way as Greece, there would be US jets whizzing through every day of the week.
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The Greek Islands that the Turks harass have no Greek military presence because of the Treaty Of Lausanne.
I have been on one of these islands when the Turkish airforce beat it up, which residents tell me is a regular occurrence.
Ikaria has the topography of an upturned boat rising out of the water, lying East/West in the middle of the Aegean and rising to more than 3,000 feet.
The two F16s came over from West to East over the land along the North side of the island, well below the level of the peaks, maybe 100ft above the ground. They were travelling very rapidly and were very loud indeed. They repeated this a few minutes later. The local attitude is that the Turks are just children playing.
The big danger is that Ikaria has a civilian airport, with the runway running North South, near its Eastern tip. The runway is in an partly artificially created valley (there is very little flat land on the island) so aircraft taking off suddenly pop up out of it, at 90 degrees to the path of the F16s. The Turkish F16s obviously aren't under Greek ATC and they cannot see what is on the runway until the very last second. If a civil aircraft was taking off at the same time that an F16 was making a low level pass then there would be zero time to take avoiding action. The only redeeming fact is that the runway only sees a small number of movements each day.
The photo is of Ikaria from the East.
I have been on one of these islands when the Turkish airforce beat it up, which residents tell me is a regular occurrence.
Ikaria has the topography of an upturned boat rising out of the water, lying East/West in the middle of the Aegean and rising to more than 3,000 feet.
The two F16s came over from West to East over the land along the North side of the island, well below the level of the peaks, maybe 100ft above the ground. They were travelling very rapidly and were very loud indeed. They repeated this a few minutes later. The local attitude is that the Turks are just children playing.
The big danger is that Ikaria has a civilian airport, with the runway running North South, near its Eastern tip. The runway is in an partly artificially created valley (there is very little flat land on the island) so aircraft taking off suddenly pop up out of it, at 90 degrees to the path of the F16s. The Turkish F16s obviously aren't under Greek ATC and they cannot see what is on the runway until the very last second. If a civil aircraft was taking off at the same time that an F16 was making a low level pass then there would be zero time to take avoiding action. The only redeeming fact is that the runway only sees a small number of movements each day.
The photo is of Ikaria from the East.
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The locals say Turkey beats up Ikaria about 50 times a year, most often when they want to distract from domestic problems.
Occasionally the Greek AF turn up, as in this video. You can clearly see Ikaria in it:
SCRAMBLE DOGFIGHT GREEK F-16 Vs TURKISH F-16 (IKARIA) ? SAMOSVIDEO.COM
Occasionally the Greek AF turn up, as in this video. You can clearly see Ikaria in it:
SCRAMBLE DOGFIGHT GREEK F-16 Vs TURKISH F-16 (IKARIA) ? SAMOSVIDEO.COM
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Greece intercepts Turkish drone over Rhodes

The Greek air force has intercepted a Turkish military drone that violated Greece’s national airspace in the southeastern Aegean, Kathimerini has learned.
The Turkish Anka unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV ANKA) twice entered Greek airspace above the Dodecanese island of Rhodes, at an altitude of 19,000-20,000 feet on Thursday. The drone was intercepted by Greek F-16 fighter jets that took off from Kasteli air base on Crete.
On Thursday, Greek and Turkish fighter jets engaged in two dogfights over the Aegean, after the Turkish jets violated Greek airspace 16 times in the northeast, central and southeastern Aegean.

The Greek air force has intercepted a Turkish military drone that violated Greece’s national airspace in the southeastern Aegean, Kathimerini has learned.
The Turkish Anka unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV ANKA) twice entered Greek airspace above the Dodecanese island of Rhodes, at an altitude of 19,000-20,000 feet on Thursday. The drone was intercepted by Greek F-16 fighter jets that took off from Kasteli air base on Crete.
On Thursday, Greek and Turkish fighter jets engaged in two dogfights over the Aegean, after the Turkish jets violated Greek airspace 16 times in the northeast, central and southeastern Aegean.
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What NATO needs to do about Turkey is build a big wall around the western border.
The EU are also keen to support the dictator having, as of 2013, given 990 million in euros for democratic and social development........
The EU are also keen to support the dictator having, as of 2013, given 990 million in euros for democratic and social development........