How the Greek Lobbyists in Washington Work to Direct US Policy Against Turkiye

For decades, the strategy of Greek lobbyists in the US has been the illegal marketing of black propaganda against Turkiye, as well as creating public opinion against Ankara and its interests in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, but its recent activities to orientate US policy against Turkiye are gaining traction.

The history of the Greek lobbyists in the states is full of practices and pressures against Turkiye and its interests, the last of which was its major role in stopping the delivery of 100 F-35 fighter jets, as well as its intervention to thwart and delay the sale of 40 F-16 fighter jets, as stated in a report by the Turkish researcher Gulru Gezer, which was published by The Independent newspaper in its Turkish edition on October 10, 2022.

It is also noted that the cooperation between Greek and Jewish pressure groups has become clearly prominent recently, thanks to the Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance (CHIA), which was established in 2012, a lobby that aims to influence the views of members of Congress, especially towards the eastern Mediterranean and Turkiye.

About 3 million Americans of Greek origin live in the US, and they constitute a large community that attracts the attention of politicians, especially during election times, while the number of American Turks is only 350,000, which is a big difference in terms of presence and influence.

In the past year, 2021, about $3.73 billion was spent on all the various lobbying activities in the US, whether for the Greek, Jewish, Indian, Armenian, or other lobby.

 

Black Propaganda

Many experts believe that the Greek lobbyists in the US are a negatively influencing factor in the US administration's decisions regarding Turkiye, which is reflected in Washington's favoritism policy with Athens at the expense of Ankara, even though both are considered allies in NATO.

For example, the Greek lobby, along with its Greek Cypriot counterpart, succeeded in persuading the US to ban arms supplies to Turkiye against the backdrop of the 1974 peace process carried out by Turkish forces on the island of Cyprus.

Although Turkiye was an active country in NATO before Greece entered it, the role of lobbyists was a big win, according to the Greek-Turkish Forum (GTF).

In the recent past, the Greek lobby also had a role in pushing the administration of former President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Ankara in 2020 over its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system.

The Turkish media is talking about the major role of the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), which is the preeminent lobby in the US.

It is noteworthy that when the US administration takes these positions, it often places them in the context of its national interests, such as that the Russian missile system in Turkiye may pose a threat to its F-35 fighter jets, according to Pentagon officials in 2019.

According to an article by the Turkish academic writer Dr. Safak Oguz published by the Turkish Research Center ANKASAM on July 16, 20, Greece is not only seeking to block Turkiye's acquisition of the American F-35 fighter jets but rather to block even its acquisition of F-16 fighter jets.

Dr. Oguz believes that the influence of the Greek lobby has clearly increased during the Biden era, and this can be seen in the reception hosted by the US president at the White House in honor of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his visit to Washington last May.

Biden praised the Greek diaspora in his inaugural address, praised Greek Democratic Representative John Sarbanes, and said: "Sarbanes' father[the first Greek senator] has had a tremendous influence on me, and I learned a lot from him."

As for the speech of the Greek Prime Minister himself in the US Congress, he did not neglect to mobilize the members of the Council against Ankara, asking them to take into account the situation in the eastern Mediterranean when dealing with the issue of Turkiye's sale of weapons (here he means the F-16 fighter jets), in which the US administration has shown flexibility to a large extent.

According to what the Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported on October 23, 2022, Turkiye intends to send a delegation to the US for talks on American fighter jets after the midterm elections for the US Congress.

The newspaper added that Turkiye is looking positively at canceling the conditional sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye in the Senate version; as the two incapacitating conditions had ensured that Ankara would not use fighter jets in operations against Greece or against the Kurdish People's Protection Units in northeastern Syria.

It is noteworthy that US President Joe Biden confirmed last June his support for Turkiye's sale of F-16 fighter jets, noting that this is in the interest of the US and pointing out that he informed his Turkish counterpart Erdogan of his support for the deal, but the implementation of this requires the approval of Congress.

 

The Greek Lobby in the US

On the other hand, the role of the Greek lobby is embodied overall through 3 outlets, the first is through the Congress to influence the legislative and executive bodies, the second is through institutions and associations that try to influence public opinion, the media, communication with politicians, and the establishment of propaganda activities for the benefit of Greek foreign policy, and the third is through private companies, most of which are in the legal field, that work for wages for the Greek lobby.

According to data from The American Hellenic Council of California (AHC), the US Congress includes 6 representatives of Greek origin who work for the agenda of Athens in Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Representatives are Republican Gus Bilirakis, Democrat Charlie Crist (he left office in August 2022), Democrat Chris Pappas, Democrat John Sarbanes, Democrat Dina Titus, and Republican Nicole Milliotakis.

The Senate includes Democratic Senator Michael Gianaris, Democratic Senator Andrew Gounardes, Democratic Senator Leonidas Raptakis, and Democratic Senator James Skoufis.

There are also other active names outside the Congress and the Senate, who work in the local councils of the states or in the judiciary and the like, such as Democrat Aravila Simotas (Member of the New York State Assembly), and Democrat Eleni Kounalakis (Deputy Governor of California), Democrat Kathleen McGuiness (former Delaware State Auditor), and Democrat Helen Voutsinas (former New York Supreme Court Justice).

The US ambassador to Athens, George J. Tsonis, who is of Greek origin, is one of the founders of the HALC, a prominent institution of the Greek lobby in the US, and he consolidates his efforts to work on behalf of Athens and its foreign policies.

In a related context, the AHC, on its website and on its occasions, praises personalities from the Congress and the Senate for their support of the Greek lobby and its cause, and they are 6 prominent figures, led by Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (of Cuban origin), a key element in the Greek lobby.

In addition to Republican Senator Marco Rubio (of Cuban origin), Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen (US), Democratic Congressman David Cicilline (of a Jewish mother), Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch (a Jew of Russian origin), and Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.

On his part, Turkish researcher Omer Ozkizilcik pointed out that "Greece's harassment of Turkish fighter jets last September came immediately after a visit by Bob Menendez to Athens."

The Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone (of Italian origin) worked with Greek–American Congressman Chris Pappas to prevent the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye, and they were able to persuade 30 representatives to sign a draft resolution demanding Biden not to sell Turkiye the fighter jets.

As for the associations and non-governmental organizations that support the Greek lobby in the US, there is the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), which had a role in influencing the decision to prevent Turkiye from selling F-16s, expressing its happiness with the sanctions against Ankara over its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system, and it is currently trying to prevent the supply of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye as well.

There is also The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), the oldest Greek–American organization in the US, and the American Hellenic Council of California (AHC), as well as the Hellenic American Union Theater.

In addition to the American Hellenic Institute—an institute that runs professional lawyers, public relations firms, and lobbyists for the Greek government in Athens—which had also sent a letter on September 29 to President Biden, demanding a harsh response to the statements of Turkiye and its President Erdogan regarding Greece.

 

Turkish-Greek Disputes

In the same context, the Greek lobby, which follows the Jewish lobby and Irish lobby in terms of influence, is trying to create a position towards Turkiye on other issues, perhaps the most prominent of which are: The file of arming the islands, and areas of maritime influence in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, in addition to the Cyprus issue.

In 2010, a bill aimed at ending the presence of Turkish forces in Cyprus was proposed to Congress. At the same time, calls were made to reconsider relations with Turkiye.

The pressure of some Greek groups in the US is not limited to the outstanding issues between Turkiye and Greece, but their practices extend to helping the Armenian lobby through joint cooperation to promote allegations of genocide and to pressure the US administration to recognize them.

In addition to running black propaganda against Turkiye and putting pressure on American politicians and legislators to harm Turkish-American relations, the Greek pressure groups do not hesitate to cooperate with terrorist organizations that target Turkiye and its security, help them reach influential politicians in Washington and thus come up with anti-Turkish decisions and messages.

Following the failed coup attempt carried out by the Gulen terrorist organization in mid-2016, the terrorist organization made generous donations to politicians through its cooperation with the Greek lobby, a partnership that motivated Congress to send anti-Turkish messages.

There are disputes over the maritime and air borders between the two neighboring countries that are members of NATO. Athens accuses Ankara of sending its fighter jets to fly over the Greek islands, while Turkiye complains that Greece is amassing soldiers and weapons on islands in the Aegean Sea in violation of the peace treaties concluded between the two sides.

The Turkish-Greek dispute also escalated due to Greece and Turkiye's exploration of natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean amid disagreements over the demarcation of the maritime borders and economic zones of the two countries.

These developments coincide with Turkish annoyance over Greece's amendment of a defense agreement with the US, allowing American forces to reach Greek military bases and expand their military buildup there.