Colin powel's incompetence in pushing the Coffi Annan Plan on cyprus is an added insult that has hurt our reputation in the region.No, the UN plan was rejected by Greeks living on Cyprus. They don't want a brokered plan, they want all Turks off the island and union with Greece. That vote embarrassed the government of Greece.
Greece has the largest military in the region and hands down the largest navy.Turkey's army (600,000 men) is the second largest in Europe, after Russia's. Greece's army wasn't enough to hold on to territory seized in the 1920s when Greece invaded Turkey.
The USA depends on Greece as a stabalizing buffer force for the balkans.Oh, that explains all the stability in the Balkans. The Greek gov't insisted that Macedonia could only be recognized as "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". That's a brilliant contribution by a nation renowned for its diplomatic abilities.
You also forget Cyprus is a BRITISH created problem.No, Archbishop Makarios illegally removed 13 articles from the constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, turned a blind eye to Greek atrocities against Turkish Cypriotes, and threatened even more, all the while pushing for union with Greece (a position he took at least as early as 1948). The world did nothing about it. Turkish patience ran out in 1974.
You are wrong about cyprus.
The plan was rejected by the Cyriots because the plan was foisted upon them after they left negotiations. Powel was trying to push the BS non-compromise plan as his swan song and Annan wanted it to show up GWBush in contrast to Iraq.
The humiliation was solidly the UN's in fact an author wrote a book cally the cypus failure a TEXT book example of the incompetence of the UN. Posted here on FR.
The Republic of Cyprus wants to be one nation as it was before. Newsflash Cypriots consider themselves more british than Greek. As for the attrocities, those turkish attrocities have been documented enough and are more better left to the other threads on the subjects.
As for macedonia. The Former yougoslave republic was named by Marshal Tito as a land grab. Macedonia is a provence in Greece. I have actuall been there and seen Pella, the palace of Alexander and the tomb of King Philip where Alexander the Great's wife and son are burried. I have seen the ancient writings of the Alexander periord. All Greek.
Focus,
The issue here is what does this statement mean in the diplomatic circles.
I think the message is clear. "WAKE UP!Israel is going to use overwhelming force and the hostage takers AND THEIR ALIES better return the soldiers or the overwhelming force is going to wipe them off the face of the earth."
I don't think this is too different from what the USA has said today.