The Greek dictatorship, the USA and the Arabs, 1967–1974

Abstract

In the early hours of 21 April 1967 the constitutional government of Greece was overthrown and in its place a military regime was established, the first in Western Europe since World War II. The coup was masterminded by a group of hitherto unknown and insignificant colonels, some of whom had served in the Greek Intelligence Agency (KYP) and had been on the payroll of the CIA since the 1950s. For the next 7 years Greece would remain under authoritarian military rule, first under George Papadopoulos and later (November 1973) under Dimitris Ioannides. Greece before World War II was under the British sphere of influence. Its geographical position in the Mediterranean was regarded as vitally important for the sea communications between Britain and the Far East as well as for the oil supplies of the Middle East. In March 1947 the British were replaced by the Americans and Greece and Turkey were selected as the most appropriate test case for the USA’s cold war policy of containment. Greece was the only country in the Balkans not yet subject to Soviet hegemony. If it fell to the communists, Turkey would be the next victim of Soviet expansionism. Inevitably, the entire eastern Mediterranean would be sealed behind the Iron Curtain and the interests of the Western powers in the oil-rich Middle East would be severely damaged. The post-war Greek governments mainly concentrated on opposing com-