VZCZCXRO1110
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBW RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTH #0721/01 1431600
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 221600Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1862
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 000721 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS TU GR
SUBJECT: CANCELLED NATO EXERCISE STIRS POLITICAL ROW 
 
REF: ATHENS 678 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (SBU) The Government and opposition sparred over NATO's 
withdrawal of support to Noble Archer (ref), which the 
opposition claimed had led to the "indirect questioning" of 
Greek sovereignty over the island of Aghios Efstratios.  In 
Parliament, Minister of Defense Meimarakis dismissed 
opposition charges and stuck to the public line that the 
"Noble Archer" exercise had simply been postponed because 
aircraft were unavailable; he also reportedly hinted at MFA 
culpability for the failed exercise.  Main opposition party 
PASOK blasted the government for not having obtained NATO 
guarantees for the exercise to go forward.  PASOK has 
further attacked the government over a "lack of policy" 
vis-a-vis Turkey and for tolerating Turkish "provocations" 
in the Aegean and elsewhere.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Minister of Defense in Parliament 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) NATO's withdrawal of support for "Noble Archer" 
became the central issue of a May 21 briefing of the 
parliamentary committee on Defense and Foreign Affairs by 
Defense Minister Meimarakis.  Meimarakis said Greece had 
been surprised by the decision as the Ministry of Defense 
had previously received "pledges" from the Alliance that 
the exercise would proceed.  He told the committee he did 
not know what exactly led to the NATO decision but added 
that the events will be "investigated." Senior PASOK 
member, and party defense spokesperson, Vasso Papandreou 
retorted that the GoG had "completely botched" the affair 
and suggested that "the information conduit that should 
have kept (the GoG) informed is broken."  Her initial 
reaction, captured yesterday on prime-time TV, was that the 
government's "excuse" was "sad and dangerous." 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Several media commentaries have suggested that 
Meimarakis' claim was a lightly veiled suggestion that the 
MFA should be held accountable for the failed exercise, as 
the MOD had received assurances from NATO military 
authorities that the exercise would go forward.  There are 
also varying media reports that MFA officials then 
responded on background that the MOD did not adequately 
coordinate with the MFA on the exercise, but rather 
"rushed" to carry out the exercise without understanding 
"the whole picture." Some have described the MFA as at odds 
with Meimarakis and "dissatisfied" over the MoD handling of 
the affair.  Meimarakis himself has affirmed to reporters 
that the MoD cooperates well with the MFA and that there is 
"no issue" in the relations between the two ministries. 
Some well-placed journalists also tell us that FM 
Bakoyiannis has tried, privately and through her spokesman, 
to do the same. 
 
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Opposition Criticism 
-------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Outside parliament, PASOK continued to attack the 
Karamanlis administration, with the party diplomatic 
spokesperson Andreas Loverdos accusing the GoG of "being 
lax" vis-a-vis Turkish demands in the Aegean that had now 
led to indirect questioning about Greek sovereignty over 
the island Aghios Efstratios.  In fact, Loverdos said, 
"many things in Turkey are changing," and, thus, Greece's 
posture in Greek-Turkish relations "should be changing" as 
well. The GoG, Loverdos added, has no policy on Turkey and 
as a result it had "to swallow Aghios Stratis" and suffer 
through "constant Turkish provocations" without an 
effective response. 
 
¶5.   (SBU) Comment: It is not surprising that the 
opposition has added the cancelled NATO exercise to its 
list of criticisms of the government.  What we have been 
surprised by is the debate itself -- the debate has largely 
steered clear of the U.S. role in the NATO decision to 
withdraw support for the exercise.  Our prompt public 
statement reaffirming the "Hellenicity" of the island seems 
to have helped limit the typically anti-American 
commentary.  Meanwhile, the government has affirmed its 
ongoing intent to improve relations with Turkey in the face 
of real concern about the political sitution there, making 
clear that this current dut-up will not impede the pending 
visit to Turkey by CHOD General Grapsas. 
 
ATHENS 00000721  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Speckhard