Grease has done nothing in the last 3 decades to deserve even the merest consideration from the US. Their airport remains an open door for Muslim terrorists. They are nowhere to be found in Iraq or Afghanistan. During the 80s, they supported the Communist crackdown on Solidarity.

They are a land of odoriferous backward peasants led by a semi-educated soi-disant aristocracy. They are France without the culture, cuisine, wine, fashion, art, or style.

Our failure to recognize Macedonia under its true name was the result of Greek-American contributions to Slick Willie. How else do you think Clay Constantinou, who can barely speak English got an ambassadorship?

Payback for decades of Athens' sniping at America, especially under PASOK governments. Why _are_ those losers still in NATO?

My headline would have been: "What's in a name?"

Perhaps it was in response to all the Alexander movies that are coming out. After all, he subdued the Greeks first.

There was plenty of talk about what the U.S. was going to do about Macedonia following the Bonsia and Kosovo crisis during the second term of the Clinton administration, but Bill didn't want to take a stand on the issue, because of the potential problems it would create with Greece, or the fact any conflict might require a U.S. ground force as peacekeepers, which could cost him poll numbers.

Still, you can almost forgive him for that prior to 9/11, when little hot spots like Kosovo could be blown up into major world problems after the fall of the Soviet Union, even if the U.S. had no direct interest in the former Yugoslav republics (and in some cases, ended up on the same side as the Muslim fundamentalists in the various Balkans feuds). The terrorist attacks and the ensuing counterstrikes by the U.S., which has boosted Turkey's strategic importance to America, made our interest in how the Greeks feel even less important than it was before (besides the fact the Democrats have always had a softer spot in their heart for the Greek leftists now in control of the country, at least since the coup of the 1960s and in some cases, back to the Soviet-supported uprisings in the 1940s).

Why does Greece--or any country, for that matter--think they have a say in what another country chooses to call itself?

"They are France without the culture, cuisine, wine, fashion, art, or style."

High praise, indeed.

I'm not sure distinguishing America's friends and adversaries on the basis of body odour is a promising analytical tool, but no matter. Greeks are a perfectly admirable people who are very moral and courageous and who have built a lovely country. But they have two fatal flaws: xenophobia and a chronic tendency to feel oppressed or taken advantage of. They resent everybody, especially those who help them, and can't understand why other nations don't reward them more for their nobility. It is perfectly normal to be talking to a modern, educated Greek about American and NATO protection of Greece and suddenly be treated to a long homily on how staying non-communist was a huge favour Greece did the West and for which they are owed big time. The country must hold the world's record for choosing the wrong side of international issues and siding with losers.

This may be a smart and justified move, but Greek worries are not completely fantastical. It may not be wise to invest too much long-term strategic capital on the sole basis of who did or did not do what in March, 2003. And it definitely is a bad idea to lock into thinking in terms of "good" Macedonians and "bad" Greeks. This is the Balkans.

Ray:

Because there is an irredentist spirit in all Balkan countries that keeps them from signing off popular,historical dreams of taking one another's territories (Think of ten different and competing Manifest Destinies). Greece has a bordering province which has always been called Macedonia, which it fears the new one covets. When Macedonia became independant in the early 90's, it's new money had a picture of the famous tower in Thessaloniki---clearly part of Greece. That is pretty cheeky and the reason this issue has simmered so long. I don't know if that is still the case.

Peter B,

When I look at the Balkans I think about WWII. The Bulgarians protected the Jews. The Greeks enabled the Germans to kill a greater percentage of their Jewish population than they were able to kill off in Germany and Poland. The Serbs protected the Jews for the most part. The Croats and the Bosnians joined the SS in droves.

At some point actions count. And I fail to see where in the last half-century there has been any benefit to an alliance with Grease. It's a horrible grotty place like Sicily without the food, friendliness, attractive women and excellent wine. All that's left is rock, sand and goatherds for whom animal husbandry is not a field of study but a lifestyle option. Nothing of any value has emerged from Grease since the time of the Caesars.

Bart:

Not to take anything away from many truly heroic Bulgarians, Bulgaria was a German ally and therefore the Bulgarian population did not answer directly to the Gestapo and stormtroopers. The Bulgarian government did round up and deport almost all Jews in surrounding areas Bulgaria itself conquered. It would have undoubtedly done so in Bulgaria proper if so many hadn't reacted with outrage, but that is not the same situation as in the occupied countries.

As far as I can tell, Greece didn't do a lot to protect its Jews and didn't do a lot to help the Germans find them. Some heroic protecters, such as the royal family, but not as many as in several other countries. But not many collaborators either.

In Western Europe, the Holocaust is seen as sui generis and stemming directly from anti-semitism. In the Balkans, even enlightened opinion tends to see it as one of many inter-sectarian wars. The whole area is drenched in blood and blood feuds and while I respect your personal interest, I don't think any of them qualify generally for humanitarian awards.

You are in a very tiny minority if you think Greece is grotty, as its overheated tourist industry proves, but what has that got to do with what we discuss around here? Are you suggesting U.S. foreign policy should be favouring those countries that have the best food and wine and made the greatest cultural contribution?

When I was in Greece in 1980, I noticed a lot of barely-started construction sites: rusting rebar sticking out of concrete, but no sign of any workers. I later found out that there was some sort of property tax exemption for buildings under construction, which created an incentive to start projects, but less incentive to actually finish them.

"They are nowhere to be found in Iraq or Afghanistan."
Dumb comment adn not true. they had among the hsihges per capita troops of any nato nation deployed in afghanistan.

"The Bulgarians protected the Jews. The Greeks enabled the Germans to kill a greater percentage of their Jewish population than they were able to kill off in Germany and Poland."

that is incorrect: Schwarzenegger personal freind waldhiem cleared the Jews out of Greece. the cooperation with the nazis by the Jewish rabbi of salonika is perhaps the worst example of quizling behavior of any jewish leader in Europe

"Why does Greece--or any country, for that matter--think they have a say in what another country chooses to call itself?"

The US started this issue. we insisted to teh greeks starting in 1944 that the naming of this province was an attempt to take territory.

I can understand their tendency to feel oppressed.

Peter B,

Grease serves Europe like Cancun serves America, a place where even the meanest working class people can afford a vacation. The Greek tourist industry is definitely downmarket. More tourist money is probably spent annually in Cannes than in all of Grease.

The Bulgarian decision to protect the Jews came from the very highest levels of their government. Just ask Elias Canetti. The percentages of Jews murdered in Grease are a matter of public record.( See Dawidowicz, Vital, etc) Grease today remains the only nation in Europe where one must declare one's religious faith on one's National Identity Card.

Actually, I've always wondered why we couldn't restrict our military interventions to places with a good climate and cuisine. Those places which don't qualify should just have WMD used on them, because they are simply not worth risking American lives for the most part. Nuking Mecca and Medina during the Haj would go a lot further to combatting terrorism than just about anything else we could do.