Endless Wikileaks cables on Greece rock news world

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The Greek press is going mad with news today, since Wikileaks began releasing countless cables on Greece yesterday. The cables began being released late last night. They mostly concern Greece’s defence system, its relations with Turkey, how the US should speak about the “Anan Plan”, the Greek education system and there is even a report on the Muslim community both in northern and southern parts of the country. The following is a brief summary of each cable, with the date and time it was released, as well as a link where you can read the cables in full.

2/9/2011 17:25

According to a Wikileaks cable the US expressed its concern about threats of extremism and  violence in Greece from what it describes is a decades-old, home grown anti-U.S., anti-NATO, anti-globalization sentiment. It also said that domestic terrorist groups and an active anarchist movement have long been the source of extremism and violence here.
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/r8lwN3

 

2/9/2011 15:25

Another interesting cable shows the dictionary of how to be a good American diplomat in Cyprus. For instance... Do not ever say the words "Annan plan". Here is a small sample: “Cyprus policy is the right one, but we need to tweak our public diplomacy message in ways that open ears and minds on both sides of the island. Getting the message right entails careful handling of the most emotive issues. For example, the most emotionally-charged phrases in our Cyprus vocabulary are, without a doubt, "the Annan Plan" and any of the phrases we use to modify it, including: "uniquely balanced," "fair," and "workable."
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/rljiuJ


2/9/2011 15:05
American officials contacts academics and journalists from the Greek think tank ELIAMEP and IDIS in relation to Iran. Here is a small sample:
“U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN and International Organizations in Vienna Ambassador Greg Schulte visited Athens on July 28 to discuss Iran-related developments at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the broad two-track approach to negotiations with Iran and the importance of sanctions. He met with Goverment of Greece officials, Bank of Greece officials, and preeminent think tankers. In all of his meetings Schulte stressed the challenges we face from Iran and emphasized the ongoing unity between the U.S. and EU on this issue, which has helped bring along other countries such as Russia and China. He outlined the P5 1 proposal that EU High Commissioner Solana delivered to Iran on June 14 and the opportunities for Iran to engage the international community in serious negotiations. Schulte also stressed the need to move forward with the second track, sanctions, if Iran is looking to buy more time and not ready to seriously negotiate, as its July 19 response in Geneva suggests.”
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/pJZuxR  

2/9/2011 14:10
Cable regarding the US embassy’s decision to revoke  the visa of Coalition of Left Syriza MP, Korovesis Pericles.
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/p8pOcc

2/9/2011 11:49
Another cable that concerns the May 23 midair collision between Greek and Turkish fighters, and statements by the then former president of the republic President Stephanopoulos who referred all Greek-Turkish Aegean disputes to the ICJ caused a mini uproar in Greece. The cable says that Greek government interest in going to the ICJ has waxed and waned over the years, depending on the ebb and flow of relations with Turkey. In the US cable it also says that “if the ICJ option has any utility for the GoG, it is in deflecting negative media/public opinion away from its failure to make any substantive headway in the on-going, but moribund Aegean exploratory talks with Turkey. This costs the GoG little, since FM Bakoyannis recently told us that PM Erdogan was "very far away" from discussing the ICJ.
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/n7g25I


2/9/2011 10:55
In this cable the US is pressured Greece and soon after it ultimately voted against Palestinian in the UN – on the Goldstone report and the fierce military operations against civilians in Gaza, for the first time in its history.
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/pSudNY  

1/9/2011 23:25 In this cable an American citizen is shown as being one of the arsonists of the synagogue in Chania, of what it terms was the
latest in a series of anti-Semitic incidents.
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/qouHG7

1/9/2011 23:00
In this cable leader of the Democratic Alliance, and former Foreign Minister with the New Democracy party under Costas Karamanlis, Mrs. Dora Bakoyannis apparently tried to promote a series of F-16 Lockheed Martin fighters to the Greek government at the time, but the decision was totally rejected by Karamanlis (and ex-foreign minister Moliviatis).
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/plHKqW


1/9/2011 22:54
Theodora (Dora) Bakoyianni is perhaps the most  popular mayor of Athens since the Golden Age of Pericles, writes another cable. Clearly… Dora was very liked by the American Embassy in Athens.
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/qncJV6 

1/9/2011 22:30
Another cable that deserves to be read is the one with LAOS leader George Karatzaferis who asked to strengthen his contacts with US officials and the Jewish community, as related by his own MP Niki Tzavela in meeting with American diplomats.
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/qViNLw  

1/9/2011 22:00
Another cable shows us the role that the US plays (and maybe has played) on the changes in Greece’s higher education as discussed by Education Minister Anna Diamantopoulou to the American embassy. She apparently informed the embassy that the privatization of universities can dissolve PASOK.
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/nk3TsA  

1/9/2011 21:36
In this cable, the US Embassy in Athens says that Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou should use the appropriate rhetoric to avoid being termed “Amerikanaki” (or Yankeei).
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/nt50v8


1/9/2011 21:20
In this cable proposals are laid out for an information exchange to be made between intelligence services away from the public eye. (low visibility cooperation)
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/oDg1yR


1/9/2011 21:09
In this cable, Babiniotis (infamous for his dictionary) apparently briefs the US embassy on national university entrance exam system based on the Scholastic
Aptitude Test (SAT) .
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/nFFY5T

1/9/2011 21:05
This cable actually bothered me… members of the ND party, Tzitzikostas, Ch. Staikouras and Elsa Papadimitriou brief the embassy on internal government issues during the time of the Karamanlis government.
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/qKIcpY


1/9/2011 20:48
This cable focuses on the former Defence Minister Meimarakis. They said that Meimarakis reportedly was sent by PM Karamanlis to the MOD to overcome traditional MOD/MFA rivalries. They also say that Karamanlis placed Meimarakis in the position to work with his old friend and newly appointed Foreign Minister Bakoyannis to overcome the intense, if muffled, rivalry between the MOD and MFA.
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/q9ENjq


1/9/2011 20:42
This cable is a highly detailed reference to Greek Minister of Citizens' Protection Michalis Chrysochoidis and on how he has re-organized Greece's civilian security agencies, including the national police, the domestic intelligence service, the Coast Guard, and the firefighters.
Read cable here: http://bit.ly/mXad2y

Source: gdailynews.wordpress.com