36 years still a long time

Submitted by Caleb (United States), Aug 27, 2010 at 22:58

All right, it's nearly forty years not fifty--still a long time for Israel to have closed its eyes. [A generation is generally regarded as twenty years, so it has been far longer than one generation since 1974.] The 1964 Acheson Plan was for partition, not **enosis** of the entire island with Greece. As it would have meant Turkish military bases on Cyprus and effectively the end of an independent Republic of Cyprus, the plan was rejected by President Makarios, obviating the need for military intervention by Turkey. Anyway, the US forbade it. America was in a stronger position vis-a-vis both Greece and Turkey in 1964 than in 1974 when the long Vietnam War and domestic problems had reduced American power and influence. It is a historical irony that the important provisions of that Plan now have come to pass: Cyprus is partitioned, the Turkish Army is there to stay!

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".