Alliances are good, but they are not enough
If there’s one important thing we have learned, it is that you don’t give up on your friends when they are down. This applies to life, it also applies to international relations. US Senator Bob Menendez is facing serious charges of corruption and everything indicates that, even if he is not forced to resign immediately, he will not be able to be re-elected in 2024. But no one can forget that this American politician fought many battles in Congress for both Greece and Cyprus. His influence and power infuriated Turkey and, as an old and experienced diplomat said, “one Menendez is worth two to three F-35s.”
Officials in the Biden administration and the State Department often chafed at Menendez, who held a critical role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Irrespective of developments in his indictment, Greece and Cyprus should not forget or erase this chapter of the senator’s activities.
In reality, we are of course in a different setting. If Turkey plays its cards right with Sweden’s accession to NATO, it will get the upgrade and possibly the OK to buy new F-16 fighter jets. This is a matter of utmost and urgent importance for Ankara.
The Greek-American lobby has other powerful allies. But no one has the influence and the punch that Menendez had shown in the various power struggles that concerned Greek interests. At the same time, the Turkish government is trying to warm up its relations with Israel, aiming to partially distance the pro-Israel lobby from Greece.
All this leads to a fundamental conclusion: The security of a country facing existential threats cannot depend on individuals, personal relationships or casual alliances. These relationships are important and must be cultivated systematically. At the end of the day, you have to have strong allies but you also need to be strong yourself, to be respected and feared by those who are against you.
That is what Israel has achieved. It has a very strong foothold within the US and makes the most of its diaspora. But it has simultaneously taken care to create a serious state, a defense apparatus and industry, a culture of security, an economy based on innovation – and a myth that has enormous deterrent value.
We have to understand this at some point: Alliances are good, relationships with key people are good, but it is important for us, in Greece, to get serious.
