What we need is a plan, not delusions

Delusions are unhelpful, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. A case in point was the euphoria cultivated in Athens over the possibility of some give and take with Washington. Speculation of this nature tends to elevate one-off gestures into decisions that do not correspond to reality. 

For example, US military helicopters were spotted in Alexandroupoli, northern Greece, as they prepared for an exercise in Bulgaria and Romania. The sighting generated speculation that the area was going to become the location of a permanent American helicopter base. 

However, no such decision has been made, and nor are there any such plans in the pipeline. The Pentagon is interested in making ad hoc use of several Greek bases for the deployment of military drones and other purposes. 

But there have been no talks about using a major military base apart from the one at Souda...