Which Countries Helped Greece Fight the Fires? Russia Tops the List – By Nick Stamatakis – 11.08.2021
Which Countries Helped Greece Fight the Fires? Russia Tops the List
By Helleniscope
-PHOTO: The Russian giant amphibious plane Beriev 200, which helped tremendously to stop the fire near Athens…
By Nick Stamatakis
I know that our friends at the State Department and some in the Greek-American community and especially in GOARCH will not like this piece of news, but here at Helleniscope, we care about the truth. If some of you prefer fake news and propaganda you know where to find it… Many countries are helping Greece fight the many wildfires that devastated the whole country, but Russia tops the list.
A giant amphibious Beriev 200 airplane is stationed in Greece for many weeks and yesterday Kyriakos Mitsotakis asked the Russian PM to send a second Beriev airplane, reports CNN-Greece… The Russian government not only agreed but, after the Greek government’s requests, they are sending 2 more planes (Ilyushin Il-76) and 2 helicopters Mil Mi-8. This act of friendship is even more significant because Greece just a few weeks ago had sent its F-16s to participate in NATO exercises in the Black Sea, where the main theme was bombing the Russian Navy…
Many other countries sent planes, fire trucks, and firefighters as you can see in this post by a blogger – who somehow managed to omit the most valuable of all – the Russian support…
Greece has a big fleet of firefighting airplanes (most of them are Canadair) and has repeatedly sent them to neighboring countries to fight fires (Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, and elsewhere). But the fires were so many and widespread this time that Greece needed any help they could get. Much criticism has been directed towards Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, rightfully so: he chose not to keep on the payroll 5,500 temporary firefighters who help fight wildfires every summer. He also preferred emergency evacuation plans, when it is known that many residents could volunteer to fight the fires along with the firemen, the army, and the rest of the security forces… But, as usual, asking for planning and organization in Greece is a losing proposition. Helleniscope will analyze the root causes of this catastrophe and its political effects in time… (Please take a look at an analysis we posted today by Nicos Igglesis – In Greek).
For now, I owe a comment to the State Department. As the fires were raging in Greece the U.S. offered one airplane, an ORION P8 naval recognition aircraft, to help manage the fires. But at the same time, the US decided to send to Turkey (also ravaged by wildfires) 2 helicopters equipped to fight fires out of the Souda Bay Base. Why do we have the feeling for the past few decades that, no matter what Greece offers (and it offered this year more bases than any other year asking very little in exchange) and no matter how disgustingly untrustworthy the Turks are, the US officials always value Turkey infinitely more than Greece?
The latest episode left a bitter taste in our mouth, the same taste we have been getting for the past five decades at least. It goes without saying that the corrupt political elites in Greece are in no position to demand more… But at some point, the US has to act more seriously about Greece, their closest ally, after Great Britain, in the whole world. “Buying” the corrupt Greek elites may soon prove counterproductive, as the popular rage that has been brewing for years due to a series of national disasters (financial bankruptcy of 2015, the unfair Prespes Agreement, and now the devastating fires) may soon lead to a populist explosion in Greece. These corrupt elites are now universally viewed as the root-cause of all evil in Greece, a statement largely reflecting reality…
Hasn’t anybody in Washington learned anything after so many years of anti-Americanism in Greece? Next time the phenomenon appears, it will not be limited to the Leftists… But we are dealing with a more complex question and we will have to come back soon… Stay tuned…