[ALBSA-Info] Editorial and Response - Washington Times

[Agron Alibali]

The Washington Times 
November 25, 2001, Sunday, Final Edition 

PART B; COMMENTARY; EDITORIALS; Pg. B2 

A reign of terror in Greece 

Has Greece become a danger zone for Americans and American businesses? So it would seem. The latest incident is a bomb explosion outside an American Express bank branch in a suburb of Athens. So far no arrests, and no claims of responsibility. That's nothing new. In Greece, assassination of Americans and attacks on American property have become routine. Most recently, terrorists bombarded the U.S. embassy in central Athens and assassinated the British defense attache. Earlier, attempts on the lives of the Dutch and German ambassadors were made. Within the last 25 years, there have been assassinations of an American diplomat and three American military officers and life-threatening attacks on 30 other U.S. officials. During this reign of terror, there have been no arrests, no suspects and no convictions. If the Greek government has granted terrorists immunity, the rest of the civilized world has a problem: Athens will be the scene of the Olympics in 2004. Are we going to witness a tragedy like the one on Sept. 5, 1972, at the Munich Olympics, when 11 Israeli athletes were assassinated by a Palestinian terrorist group that called itself Black September, a covert unit of the Palestine Liberation Organization? All competing athletes, especially American athletes, are potential targets of the so-called November 17, a terrorist organization that surfaced in 1975 to commemorate suppression of a student uprising by an earlier military dictatorship. 

We have the word of a former U.S. ambassador to Athens, Thomas Niles, who told the New York Times that there are links between Greece's ruling political elite and November 17. He said he had given Greek authorities a list of potential suspects linked to the terrorist organization, a Marxist-Leninist group with sympathizers including "prominent members of Greek society." 

November 17 is an equal opportunity terrorist network; scores of Greek citizens have also been assassinated. Last year, there were 100 political bombings. November 17 uses high explosives, mortars and rocket grenades, mostly stolen from Greek police and military arsenals. Same story: no arrests, no suspects, no convictions and no serious investigations. 

Wayne Merry - a former State and Pentagon official who worked in Athens - tried in vain to get the Greek government to do something about this reign of terrorism. "The chances the terrorists will be caught," he writes in the Weekly Standard, "are very low, but the chances for more American victims are high."(spade) 

There is no question that American athletes and tourists will be targeted by November 17. The Greek government has demonstrated that it is incapable of stopping these criminals. Two years ago, former CIA Director James Woolsey and Ambassador L. Paul Bremmer III, who headed a congressional inquiry into fighting terrorism, suggested that Greece be put on the list of countries facing sanctions for failing to do anything about November 17. The Bush administration should seriously consider pressing to move the Olympics to a country where Americans will be safer than they will be in Athens. 


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The Washington Times 

November 29, 2001, Thursday, Final Edition 

PART A; COMMENTARY; EDITORIALS; LETTERS; Pg. A20 

 Editorial paints peaceful Greece as country of routine violence 


>From its headline to its last sentence urging a change of venue for the 2004 Olympics, your Nov. 25 editorial "A reign of terror in Greece" is so malicious that one is compelled to question your motivation. Reading it, one wonders whether it is targeting an enemy of the United States rather than an ally that has been standing alongside the United States in the fight against international terrorism and closely cooperating for the eradication of domestic terrorism. 

Those in the U.S. government and the 12 million tourists who safely visit Greece every year certainly will disagree with your portrayal of the country, one of the safest democracies in Europe, as a haven for terrorists who kill at random in the streets of Athens or bomb foreign embassies. 

Though reprehensible, it is amazing that a victimless explosion outside a building that houses a suburban American Express office, no doubt the work of a misguided individual, would suddenly provoke a rehash of all the hyperbolic accusations made by a small number of former U.S. officials. These individuals have never responded to repeated invitations to produce evidence of their damaging claims, and their recommendations have been rejected repeatedly by the Bush administration and Congress. It also is astonishing that your editorial states that the "assassination of Americans and attacks on American property have become routine." Most of the 21 victims since 1975 have been Greeks, but four have been U.S. officials, whose families' grief we share. However, this tragic and unacceptable loss of human life is far from a "routine" occurrence in Greece. 

So, far from "granting terrorists immunity," as you suggest, the Greek government, with the full cooperation of the FBI (which has operated an office in Athens for the past 10 years), British and other European law enforcement agencies, has made diligent efforts to track down and bring to justice those responsible for these attacks. As you correctly say, those efforts have not succeeded so far. However, this is not for lack of effort or political will. Indeed, two suspected terrorists were killed in a confrontation with police, and others have been investigated and arrested. In a democratic country, however, credible and strong evidence is needed to convict in a court of law. Unlike organized and identifiable terror groups in other countries, Greece's November 17 criminals are a small, elusive, clandestine group, which acts sporadically against specific targets and is extremely difficult to penetrate. They are like the Unabomber, who evaded capture in the United States for more than 18 years, or the perpetrator of the bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, who remains at large five years later. 

Greece's commitment to tackling the problem is recognized in the latest terrorism report by the U.S. State Department, in April, which stated that the "Greek government has undertaken some meaningful steps to combat terrorism." This is conveniently ignored in your editorial, as are expressions of appreciation by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and other U.S. officials for the military and other facilities that Greece has provided to the United States in its anti-terrorism campaign. 

Today, more than ever, fighting terrorism is one of the highest priorities of the Greek government and, more than ever, Greeks feel the urgency and clearly see the dangers of this scourge. 

In its stepped-up anti-terror program, the Greek government last summer passed legislation that streamlines the judicial process in terrorist trials, provides for DNA testing, conveys broader police surveillance powers and establishes a witness protection program. A reward of more than $4 million has been offered for information, using confidential hot lines, leading to the apprehension of terrorists. With good police work, international cooperation and the support of the public, we hope the desired results will come soon. Authorities will not rest until the terrorists are behind bars. 

This effort has been intensified in view of the approaching 2004 Olympic Games. A comprehensive security plan costing more than $600 million has been approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is upgraded constantly. It provides for thousands of special security units, surveillance cameras and border guards to prevent problems, whether from a domestic or foreign source. An international advisory group also has been formed, with security experts from the United States, Israel, Britain, Germany, Australia, Spain and France, offering their expertise to the Greek authorities. Greek police officers observed the security measures of the Sydney Olympics and are already in Salt Lake City for the Winter Olympic Games. 

In addition to the approval of the IOC itself, senior officials of the United States - including President Bush and Mr. Powell - have looked forward to the successful and trouble-free Olympics in the land of their ancient birth. The U.S. ambassador to Greece, Thomas Miller, responded to the points raised by your editorial in a TV interview in Athens Monday. He spoke of the "excellent cooperation" between Greece and the United States in confronting the terrorist threat and assured his audience that he feels perfectly safe in Athens, where, he added, both he and his wife were glad to be assigned for the third time. 

ACHILLES PAPARSENOS 

Press counselor 

Embassy of Greece 

Washington 



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