Greece (catch all)

[Pete]

This is Old Hat for Greece because Communists causing trouble there has been going on ever since 1945.

It may be too long ago for folks to remember it now, but in 1947 when the British pulled out of the civil war in Greece between the the Royalists and the Communists the U.S. Army moved in with a military advisory command and helped them fight against the Reds. The trouble in Greece was what caused President Truman to announce the "Truman Doctrine," the American policy of assisting governments that were fighting internal Communist subversion. For a period the commander there was Gen. James Van Fleet, who also served in WW II and Korea. There is a fictionalized account of the civil war in Greece in the W.E.B. Griffin novel The Lieutenants.

I could be mistaken but Ken White probably remembers when this happened.

[davidbfpo]

Adam G,

Greece has a long standing problem with extremist groups, as the November 17th group showed and I suspect the causes are more than poor governance and incompetent security agencies - hopefully the later is history. On a quick read no-one is able to estimate the size of the group(s), their intent is partly in the open - with statements published and what is their real capability? Yet again proof that a small minority can have such an impact.

BBC 2009 comment:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7872214.stm

Wiki:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_Greece

The recent crisis in Greece could, dangerously IMHO, give a spurious legitimacy to such protests and a "blind eye" by some to their activities. Have a look at Stefan Aust's book on the Baader-Meinhof gang (Post 691 on What are you reading thread) and 'Europe's Last Red Terrorists and The Revolutionary Organisation "November 17" By George Kassimeris.

[AdamG]

Dave,
Thanks for directing the answer to me by name, but I merely posted the interrogative as written in the headline.

We've all read about the post-WWII fun-fest in Greece, I'm sure, but I found this passage to be the foot-stomper in the article:

"This is the first time we have ever had a terror organization in Greece saying they plan to target innocent bystanders and even tourists," says Mary Bossis, a security expert and professor at the University of Piraeus. "It's a change in mentality that's very troubling."

nb : a year ago, they were refered to as the 'Sect of Rebels'.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/wo.../22greece.html
Must have gotten a new drummer.

[Pete]

Dean Acheson's book Present at the Creation is worth reading for background on the early days of the Cold War. As Secretary of State under Truman he was the main architect of the Containment policy.