The Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff and the Genie of War – Hot Incident or Conflict?
The Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff and the Genie of War – Hot Incident or Conflict?
In his meeting yesterday with the accredited journalists of the Ministry of Defense, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros, said many interesting things. His statements dominated the public discourse, saying that "Whoever sets foot on Greek soil, we will first burn them and then ask who they are."and that anyone who messes with Greece will pay a very heavy price."
However, equally important was his statement that it is very difficult to have a localized conflict. That is, if a conflict breaks out in Kastelorizo or anywhere else, it cannot be limited there but will spread to the entire Greek-Turkish system. Also, at some point in his speech he stated that "and war must be waged in a civilized manner».
The icing on the cake was at the end of the meeting with journalists when he stated that operational plans can last no more than five minutes when a conflict breaks out. This is a classic saying of von Moltke the Elder and refers, of course, not to “reasoned” military “engagements” that are highly controlled but to when the genie of war is let out of the bottle.
In general, in a masterful manner, taking cues from journalists' questions, analyzing international relations in the Eastern Mediterranean, quoting Mearsheimer's sayings, characterizing Erdogan as a great leader and stating that we seek good neighborliness with Turkey, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defense Staff, without appearing aggressive in a "bullying" manner, for the first time conveyed a serious message of deterrence, saying between the lines that we are preparing not only for some "engagement" or "hot incident" but also for a large-scale military confrontation, if we deem it appropriate.
So, the strategy of “controlled tension” that suits Turkey suffered a severe blow yesterday. Among other things, in this way Greece takes an important step towards achieving a crucial element for an adequate deterrent proposal, escalation control, as Professor Panagiotis Ifestos, founder of the study of deterrence in Greece.
In combination with the successful response to Turkey's hybrid invasion of Evros a few months ago, this "polite", "civilized" but also icy convincing statement that we, with calm and composure, are preparing "to pass the gate of the insane asylum", if Turkey chooses, constitute a leap in the Greek deterrent strategy against Turkish expansionism and this, in large part, is credited to the Chief of General Staff.
Already, of course, some of Turkey’s mouthpieces within the Greek system of power have rushed to accuse the Chief of General Staff of doing his job and serving as a deterrent, thus giving an opportunity to maintain peace while defending the national identity. They have even rushed to ask the political leadership to “put him in his place.” It remains to be seen whether the political leadership will do them a favor…