A big “FU” to Greece

Greece is furious that the US has decided to recognize the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as simply ‘Macedonia.’ Greece has long opposed allowing the former Yugoslav nation to use the historically Hellenic name on a number of grounds. First, it is the name of a northern Greek province. Second, and more importantly, Alexander the Great was from Macedonia. An explanation of the controversy can be read here.

But make no mistake: this is a thank you to Macedonia for “pulling their weight” in Iraq and payback to Greece for being assholes. As the New York Times noted just after the Iraq War began:

Few European nations have had testier relations with the United States over the years than Greece. Most Greeks still resent Washington’s tacit support for the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1967 to 1974. Then, in 1981, Andreas Papandreou, the Socialist leader, rose to power and threatened to shut down American military bases. Mr. Papandreou also threatened to withdraw Greece from NATO, and befriended such adversaries of the United States as Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya.

OK, maybe the friendship with Qaddafi isn’t such a big deal anymore. But read on.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis has left the Iraqi debate in the hands of his party’s anti-American hawks, who have organized mass marches to the American Embassy.

…where they chucked Molotov cocktails and defaced a statue of Harry S. Truman. You know, the American president who saved Greece’s bacon from the Communists in the 1940s. But the Greeks have their own reasons, some say:

To Theodore Couloumbis, a political scientist at the University of Athens, that is “smart politics.” “You just can’t advertise your credibility as a Western ally,” he said in an interview, “when the majority of your voters are opposed to the war and national elections are due within a year.”

…which the Socialists nonetheless lost to the Conservatives. Ahha! Conservatives in power! Shouldn’t that patch things up? If only.

“Anti-Americanism is a hidden agenda on which each government or party seeks to capitalize,” said Takis Michas, the author of “Unholy Alliance,” about Greece’s relations with Serbia in the recent Balkan conflicts.

Consequently, you’ll forgive cominganarchy.com when we chuckle at State Department spokesman Richard Boucher’s recent comments:

“[We have] gone out of our way to make clear to the Greek government, to the Greek people that this is not a decision that is in any way directed at them or intended to offend them. It was what we thought was the right thing to continue a progress toward stability in the region.”

Riiiiiiiiiiigght. Considering the recent South Korea-esque anti-Americanism in Greece and Powell’s ipso facto exclusion from the Olympics, I think the Bush Administration is just enjoying the reelection honeymoon and “putting some stick about.” Meanwhile in Macedonia, the Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva hailed what she called “an historic day, an excellent day” for her country. You’re welcome, Illi. Just hope you’ve got your troops ready to be shipped to Iraq. Oh wait! They already are!