PAPER REPORTS ON GREEK PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS SERVING OVERSEAS

Ta Nea, Athens
5 Aug 06

Text of report by Loukas Dhimakas, "Greek military expeditions to
the unknown", published by Greek newspaper Ta Nea on 5 August

Greece is preparing to embark on yet another uncertain "peacekeeping"
mission, with an unknown – and unpredictable – exit time. The
possibility of Greek participation in a military mission to Lebanon
was mooted by the government itself and, irrespective of official
statements, the Pentagon [Greek National Defence Ministry] has already
begun to draft various plans concerning our country’s participation.

As staff officers have pointed out: "The issue is not a simple
one and it is being carefully examined from the military point of
view." Beyond the grave operational dangers facing any mission
operating in an unknown environment, the staff officers have to
face another major headache – the sheer numbers involved. There are
currently 1,221 members of the Greek armed forces – men and women –
serving in "peacekeeping operations" under the auspices of NATO, the
EU or the UN, in 15 hot spots around the world. The cost to Greece
is nearly 200m euros per year.

However, this is not the only issue. A number of missions have
already existed for over 15 years, with the most difficult of them
being Afghanistan. In the case of that country, the official view
expressed two days ago was that another 15 years would be required
before this mission could be successfully concluded. It should be
remembered that when, in 2003, the first Greek Army engineers left
for distant Kabul, it was generally believed that the situation there
would have been settled within two or three years. Today, the Taleban
attacks are becoming even more fierce, with 1,700 persons killed this
year alone. In the meantime, a few days ago the Americans handed over
responsibility of the south Afghanistan hotbed to a NATO-led force,
while they are preparing for their gradual withdrawal.

The current situation causes serious concerns to many of the European
countries participating in the multinational mission there and
vindicates the German analyst of "Die Zeit," Mr Matthias Geis, who
recently wrote. Either today in Kosovo and in the Congo or tomorrow
in the Middle East, peacekeeping missions follow less and less a
well-planned strategy and more and more the necessities created by
the UN, the USA and… [ellipses as published] CNN!

In the countries of the former Yugoslavia, the foreign military
presence – including that of Greece – continues to be necessary for
over 12 years now, while there is no visible time for an exit. As
an experienced staff officer commented recently, "an exit strategy"
is rarely drafted. His comment was mainly directed at the Americans
who are, more or less, "directing" all peacekeeping operations during
the past 15 years. The same staff officer admits that "this can be
clearly seen in Iraq" and states that Washington is "applying pressure"
on its allies to join the countries willing to contribute troops.

However, he also points out that in certain cases, such as in the
Balkans, the Greek presence is necessary for geopolitical, economic
and diplomatic reasons. As he is quick to stress, "there exists a
new form of diplomacy – that of peacekeeping operations".

The commander of the Greek battalion serving in Afghanistan is a man
of a few words. He is Stavros Varounas, a lt-col in the commandos and,
as he explains: "Our mission is very difficult. There are dangers
every single day."

"Nevertheless," he adds quickly, "we are professionals, well-trained,
well-armed and, naturally, we take all precautionary measures".

These measures, however, did not prove sufficient to prevent a bomb
attack against a Greek convoy on the outskirts of Kabul a few months
ago. Nor did it prevent a rocket attack – fortunately without any
casualties – a few days ago against the headquarters of the ISAF
[International Stabilization Force] where 29 Greeks are billeted
temporarily.

"It was painful, but fortunately we suffered only two lightly-injured
soldiers," says a Special Forces non-commissioned officer that was
travelling on the convoy attacked. He believes that "we were mistaken
for others", since the "Yunan" (Greeks) are looked upon in a different
light from the other allies. A now retired general, however, takes a
more realistic view and says that the attack amounted to a "warning"
to the Greeks so that they, as well as the other Europeans, will not
consent to the handing over of responsibilities from the United States
to NATO.

The Greek mission, in addition to the security measures it is taking,
has another "shield". This is the humanitarian work it is carrying
out. This applies mainly to the Kosovo, where certain local leaders
and a number of Albanian-speaking extremist elements do not look
favourably upon the Greek presence.

As Lt-Col Nikos Mekras, commanding officer of the 501st Battalion
deployed in Urosevac told Ta Nea: "The Greek Force in Kosovo is a
factor for security and stability in the region." The battalion has
under its command one platoon from Armenia. As he explains, there
is constant collaboration with the local authorities, while the
main work of the ELDIKO [Greek Force in Kosovo] is the distribution
of humanitarian help, public works construction and the offer of
medical care.

Last year, a 15-member strong unit of Greek soldiers came very near
to a general shootout with an extremist mob that was probably directed
against them.

The incident took place in the northern Kosovo village of Urosevac. The
Greeks were guarding a Serbian Orthodox church when they were attacked
and endured an hours-long siege by Albanian-speaking extremists that
wounded one lieutenant. A non-commissioned officer who was a member of
the unit describes the incident as follows: "I lived through a mini,
but nevertheless real, ‘Black Hawk Down’ experience. Fortunately, the
armoured vehicles arrived on time, followed by US helicopters that
started firing, throwing tear gas and flares and were thus able to
save us." He stresses that it was a difficult night, with everybody
risking their lives.