The US nod to the prodigal son

In the immediate aftermath of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus in 1974, American foreign policy became focused on three areas: a) preventing a war between Greece and Turkey; b) keeping NATO's southern flank intact; and c) averting Soviet involvement. In other areas, it allowed developments to take their own course, so that a new balance of power was created between Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.

This stance annoys Greece, for obvious reasons, but the problem is that we also appear oblivious to its reasons, believing that the US must approach matters from an idealistic perspective, on the terms of fairness. We fail to accept that what the United States (and every other major power) always puts first is its own interests. And in the case of the 1974 invasion, the Americans judged that their interests were being served by the new balance created by the more powerful Turkey in Cyprus'...