Speckhard: "Greece is much more important than people think"

Editor's Note: HellasFrappe is not convinced about SYRIZA's relationship with Russia; in fact we highly doubt it. We tend to believe that SYRIZA tips to the West and the only force that is Russia-friendly is their coalition partner ANEL. In previous posts we have posted reports on Mr. Speckhard, and featured various Wikileaks cables about him. We have also written about how he was so fixated on the downfall of former premier Costas Karamanlis, but we have also reported that he met with Alexis Tsipras in the US when the Greek premier addressed the Soros-backed Brookings Institute. In fact someone even snapped a picture of their meeting; but this was all ignored by the corrupt Greek media. Luckily, the Diaspora media thought it was interesting. As such, and after reading the article, we suggest that you click on the articles featured below so that you gain a better perspective on what is really at play here. In the end you will agree that Speckhard's recent comments on Greece's geopolitical importance are just words to mix up the salad in what is a geopolitical (oil-pipeline) war of propaganda.

(ANA-MPA/P. Panagiotou) - Former U.S. Ambassador to Greece Daniel Speckhard argued in an interview with Fortune magazine that European finance ministers are missing the forest for the trees when it comes to the Greek debt crisis.

In an article titled "Will debt negotiations force Greece into Russia's orbit?" and published late on Monday, writer Chris Matthews says Speckhard noted that the seeds of Greece's current debt crisis were sown years ago, when "the poorest and least stable economy decided to join the Euro in 2000".

Greek and European leaders hoped that joining the currency would force the country to adopt growth policies that would keep it from needing to devalue its currency just to stay competitive. "But the Greek government never adopted such policies. Instead, they cooked the books to gain admission into the Euro and to hide their high debt levels from other member nations," Speckhard argued.

Once the financial crisis hit, there was no way to sweep the harsh economic realities under the rug.

Greece's bailouts have allowed it to keep its creditors at bay, he said, but they have been a short-term disaster for the nation's economy. Facing depression conditions at home, the Greek electorate turned to a left-wing government in the parliamentary elections in January, which ran on promises to fight against the austerity conditions imposed upon it as conditions for its bailout.

Since then, Eurozone officials, and Germany in particular, have taken a hard line against Greece, refusing to loosen its bailout terms, out of fear that giving into Greece will embolden the left wings of other bailed out nations like Spain and Portugal.

But this logic misses the forest for the trees and might end up costing Germany and the Eurozone a lot more, in terms of hard cash and geopolitical power, according to the former U.S. Ambassador to Greece.

Speckhard, who is now president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief, argued in a recent interview with Fortune that because the debt negotiations are "silo-ed off" from discussions about European and Western unity in the face of global threats like ISIS and an increasingly bellicose Russia, Germany and the West risk letting Greece slip from their sphere of influence. Greece is a critical state for exerting American and Western influence in both the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

     "Greece is much more important than people think," says Speckhard. "The conventional wisdom is now that we can allow a Grexit and just cauterize the wound, but it's not that simple."

Speckhard points to the fact that Greece's current left-wing ruling party, Syriza, already has a close relationship with Russia.

A day after he was elected to the post, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras objected to any further sanctions against Russia surrounding its support of separatists in Ukraine. And in May, Tsipras traveled to Russia, where he criticized the pro-European government which took power in Ukraine last year.

Other top government officials, like foreign minister Nikos Kotzias, have worked to water down the threat of further sanctions against Russia as well. The Greek and Russian people also have cultural ties, including a shared religion, which make cooperation more plausible.

From an economic perspective, the exit of Greece from the euro currency zone might not seem like such a loss, Speckhard said. "But if you think that fighting Russian aggression in Eastern Europe is important to maintain political and economic stability in the region, then taking a softer line on Greek debt may be worthwhile in the long run."

Speckhard also said that Europe could loosen some of the terms of Greece's bailout and give the Greek people time to realize that Syriza can't deliver on its populist promises and remain a member of the Euro currency.

Berlin and Brussels are worried such a solution would encourage Spain?which has its own left wing party gaining support?to renege on its bailout conditions. But Speckhard argues that taking a hard line on Greece won't prevent this from happening anyway.

      "Economically speaking, Greece might not be globally significant. But at a time when the U.S. and Europe is fighting costly political battles in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, poking a country like Greece?which sits at the crossroads of these regions?could be far more expensive in the long run," he said.

Here are some articles that were posted by HellasFrappe over the last few years. The first two articles vindicate our argument perfectly.

SPECIAL REPORT - Analyzing Meeting Of Tsipras & Angelopoulou-Daskalaki & Upcoming Clinton Global Conference
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2014/11/special-report-analyzing-meeting-of.html

BUSTED - Tsipras' Side By Side With T.Miller & D. Speckhard - What The Greek Media Purposely Ignored
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2013/02/busted-tsipras-side-by-side-with.html

Tsipras Holds Talks With US State Department Officials On Greek EEZ
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2013/01/tsipras-holds-talks-with-us-state.html

BUSTED - Soros Funded Tsipras' Trip To US Says German Mag.
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2013/02/busted-soros-funded-tsipras-trip-to-us.html

Hellasfrappe also proposes that you read the following articles as well, because the name of the game is pipelines. Quite interestingly SYRIZA's current moves in government are very similar to those of George Papandreou (oil exploration, relations with FYROM, Turkey, Soros, illegal immigration, the region of Thrace, etc).

VIDEO REPORT - Speckhard says Vote of Confidence Will Fail on Friday!
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2011/11/video-report-speckhard-says-vote-of.html

SPECIAL REPORT - The Tale Of Sex, Marriage And Natural Gas Pipelines Continues....
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2013/04/special-report-tale-of-sex-marriage-and.html

Wikileaks: "Semi-Secret Exploratory" Talks On Aegean Between Papandreou & Ankara
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2012/02/wikileaks-semi-secret-exploratory-talks.html

NEW SCANDAL - Papandreou's Open Door Tactics To Illegal Immigrants Exposed
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2012/08/new-scandal-papandreous-open-door.html

SPECIAL REPORT - Does Papandreou work on behalf of Greek or US interests? (VIDEOS)
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2011/10/special-report-does-papandreou-work-on.html

SPECIAL REPORT - The Plot Thickens In Karamanlis Assassination Plot - More Details Exposed
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2013/04/special-report-plot-thickens-in.html

WikiLeaks –Papandreou: Greek PM, or American Mediator?
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2011/08/wikileaks-papandreou-greek-pm-or.html

SPECIAL REPORT - Classified documents reveal US energy coup & Papandreou's retreat on FYROM
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2011/10/special-report-classified-documents.html