Turkey: war games with Greece
Byfiring several shots while trying to get other regiments to join. The. Lion
“It was provided. We did not send an army… As far as Mediterranean sovereignty is concerned, I have to be consistent in deeds and words… If you say words that are not followed by deeds… What France did this summer was important: it is a line policy”.
These words belong to the president of France, Macron. The issue is competition for oil and natural gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean. Other than that, the main problems between Greece and Türkiye are revived; the struggle for power in Cyprus, the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean is increasing again. The exchange of threats with Greece became part of the daily political agenda: warships increase tension in the Aegean sea, dog fights continue on the air, enemy radars block each other...
The Turkish and Greek fronts are on alert. The naval forces of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) are on the ground with all their might. According to NAVTEX announcements, frigates accompanying seismic survey ships are intimidating rivals in Cyprus, the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean.
The French news agency AFP released photographs of the landing of troops of the Greek army on the island of Meis, which is located a short distance from Türkiye. There is no point in objecting that it goes against the treaties because from now on, only brute force speaks. The parties are conducting successive military exercises; even UAE fighter jets are up for grabs.
There will be war?
The AKP government is showing an attitude of crushing Greece: “No one will protect you (Greece)” completes this image of unrealistic great self-confidence. By the way, we all know that the main objective of these massages is internal politics. Speaking in the official media, military experts boast: “We can easily take Meis, which is on the other side of Kaş, and the small surrounding islands”. They are busy recounting the victory scenarios on paper: "If they resist, we will take all of Rhodes or anywhere”. The more these people stir up the chauvinistic environment, more think they are gaining favor.
Nevertheless, taking a war initiative is not so easy. Who will make the move to start a war? After all, Greece is the side whose borders are being crossed. The TAF navy appears in the region between Crete and Rhodes and seismic research vessels continue their activities.
It is clear that Greece will not want to fight its powerful neighbor on a wide front from Evros to Cyprus.. It is also clear that his allies, France or the EU, they would not choose to fight for Greece in such a war. On the other hand, it is obvious that Erdogan's image fell into a bluff and that gives Macron courage, who wants to put limits on Türkiye. In the end, not just Erdogan, but also Macron and Miçotakis need an increase in nationalism and an image of a strong leader that allows them to do what they want.
Now, even Sisi is making propaganda that they have presented their red line in Libya and intimidated Erdogan. Macron continues to speak of "red lines" today. Previously, in the Blue Marmara tension with Israel, in the case of the priests' tension with the United States or in the attack carried out by Russia in İdlip in February, that cost the life to 37 soldiers, Erdogan had to take a step back. In summary, competitors have caught the bluff. That is why the French front responds to bluffs by raising its voice.
On the other hand, Greece is still the side whose borders have been crossed and it should be Greece that takes the war initiative. It is also very difficult for Greece to switch from defense to attack.. Nevertheless, mutual provocations can get out of hand, serious accidents can happen. No one can ignore the possibility of war breaking out at some point in the imperialist games.
What a tremendous leap a military success against Greece would be for Erdogan! But this is not so easy. Neo-Ottomanist dreams are glorified inside by the partisan chorus, but those in power are timidly cautious. We mention the examples, but the last confrontation in Libya was a tremendous test.
The TAF and the militia in were really very advantageous against Sirte, but after the bombardment of the TAF air defense systems in Watiye, it was a very strong attack, dreams faded.
useless loneliness
When a large-scale natural gas area was found in the Eastern Mediterranean, the states of the region were deeply involved in extracting and sharing these reserves. while egypt, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Greece, Italy and even Palestine participated in the gigantic oil monopolies, Türkiye was excluded. This has been the consequence of the AKP's aggressive foreign policy which is based on fighting against all. Nevertheless, the AKP began to turn even this failure into an opportunity for domestic politics through victimization and nationalism. Nationalist stories like “enemies trying to block the rise of a strong Turkey” gain acceptance by the AKP base. We even see that, as expected, so-called opposition parties back AKP over Patria Azul project when it comes to nationalism.
To the workers of Greece and Türkiye
The workers of Turkey and Greece must unite their struggles against the bourgeoisie and its nationalist government with a struggle against war. We see many opponents or self-proclaimed “leftists” siding with their nationalist camps when it comes to war. The same situation exists in Greece. Class-conscious workers must recognize these buttresses of the system of exploitation.
During the severe economic crisis that lasted at least ten years, the Greek working class was profoundly impoverished. In Turkey, due to the economic crisis that lasts at least two years, workers are getting poorer day by day and this will continue for a while. Under these circumstances, we must not allow the bourgeoisie to make us forget the real problems through the nationalism that it has been promoting. Let us be aware that the stories of national unity, war news, serve to strengthen the exploitation of the working class in both countries.
We are convinced that even if Turkey gets its share of that gas in the eastern Mediterranean, it will not be the working class that will benefit from it, but certain capitalist groups, the corrupt circles around the government and some bureaucrats appointed to management positions in these companies, etc. Poverty, strong exploitation and unemployment will be the only part of the workers.
For a united red country where the revolutionary unity of the workers of Greece and Turkey breaks the chain of nationalism and exploitation and eliminates the borders of the two countries...
