[MGSA-L] Fwd: Radical Left: The Dangers of the Disaffected and the Unemployed

[DANIEL P. TOMPKINS]

Gee.  In the entire political history of Greece from 1944, the "Americans"
only get mentioned twice, while "Communists" are mentioned nine times.  I
guess we had no agency at all in all this.  Consider the easy slide in this
paragraph from the Greek Civil War to the post-Junta activity:

But the United States and its allies were not the only ones attempting to
influence Greece. The Soviet Union saw the Greek communists, like communist
groups elsewhere in the West, as a useful tool. The Soviets actively
supported communist activists in the Greek labor and student movements.
Anti-regime radicalism in the Greek student movement came to a head in
1973, when student protests against the military junta were put down by
force.


"Actively supported":  *how * actively, and in what proportion to the full
range of political activity?    "The Communists" seem to have been a
unitary group from 1944-75 and later.  A historian would ask for precision
here.

Since the  Soviet role in Greece from 1944 onward is exaggerated, it's
worthwhile to mention Istvan Deak's remark in a recent NY Review of Books
("Could Stalin Have Been Stopped," March 1):

The Soviets did not try to contest British predominance in Greece or the
later suppression of the Communist revolt there.


And it's a *bit* odd to see this focus at a time when Golden Dawn is doing
lots of damage, and to see the entire array of Greek activist groups post -
'75.

Others on this list know a *lot* more about both the '40s and the present
than I do.  I'm in their debt.  And I've done no research for this reply.
 I'm a bit perplexed, since the basic message is one we've all known since
the '70s at least, that there are dangerous people with international
connections involved in killing people.  What does the Stratfor perspective
add?    By eliding out American agency, it may enable Americans to sleep
better.    But is that the function of an expensive newsletter for
businessmen and government officials? (There's also no mention of damage
done by American banks over the past two decades.  The causal role of
economics is wholly passed over.)

I'm not taking sides or defending the left, and certainly not defending the
turn to violence.   But it has to be asked, in what way is this  a serious
"analysis" of the current woes of Greece?  It really may be that I've
missed something, and I'd be interested in hearing from others.

Best,

Dan



On Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 12:25 PM, Roland Moore <rolandmo at pacbell.net> wrote:

> *From:* Dimitra Tsekoura <mika at sas.upenn.edu>
>
> Hello!
>
> perhaps this is of interest to the MGSA members?
> If yes, please post
>
> Thanks
>
>
> "<a href="
> http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/greeks-radical-left-dangers-disaffected-and-unemployed">Greek&#039;s
> Radical Left: The Dangers of the Disaffected and the Unemployed</a> is
> republished with permission of Stratfor."
>
>
>
> Mika Tsekoura
> mika at sas.upenn.edu
> http://www.sas.upenn.edu/moderngreek/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> List-Info: https://maillists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/mgsa-l
>
>
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