Letter from America…..
By Roger L Jennings…..
The dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots could be settled by the US in two days, but the US takes no action.
The US has been represented by A. Wes Mitchell of the US State Department who just resigned and Jonathan Cohen before Mitchell. Both sold their souls to the Greek Cypriots. Give the Greeks credit.
The Greeks have lived by the guile of their diplomacy since the year 1453, and are the best diplomats in the world. The proof is they have the UN and EU completely supporting Greek positions.
The Greeks have only one objective. Pursuant to the Megali Idea, the Greeks want all Turks to either leave Cyprus or to be subordinate to the Greeks. That is unrealistic.
Secretary Pompeo is pre-occupied with North Korea, China, Russia and other issues. He is not involved in the Cypriot dispute. With Mitchell now out of the way, the US Ambassador in south Cyprus could contact Secretary Pompeo requesting action to bring peace and prosperity for all Cypriots. Does she have the initiative?
The US State Department is a huge bureaucracy rather than the residence of diplomats. If Mitchell, Cohen, and others had ever taken Diplomacy 101 in school, they would understand that both Greece and Turkey are allies of the US. Therefore, the role of the US should be to mediate disputes without taking the side of one country. As soon as the US takes one side, the US alienates the other side. Can the US Ambassador in south Cyprus separate herself from the bureaucracy by contacting a Republican Secretary of State?
If you want to work for the US Federal Government, have a long, successful career, and get promoted, you have to support the Democratic Party. So employees of the State Department, including the Ambassador to south Cyprus, are just waiting for a Democrat to be elected as President. President Trump’s election was a rejection of the Democrats by the American people. The only question is whether he will drain the Swamp of Democrats to restore democratic traditions. The answer will come from the new Attorney General, William Barr. However, Mr. Barr will not be looking at the US position in Cyprus.
Each nation has its own persona. The French are very different from Germans. The French and Germans are very different from the British. The three are very different from the Japanese. Turks are very different from Greeks. Turks are a resolute people, the kind who would not give ground to the Allies at Gallipoli. You should never challenge a Turk, because they will never submit.
President Trump does not like the UN or EU. He also does not have anyone advising him about the history and issues of Cyprus. He is ignorant about Cyprus. However, he belongs to the American nation. The American nation supports the oppressed. The TRNC is oppressed. Currently President Trump is supporting the people of Venezuela along with 65 other countries in their attempt to remove the dictator Maduro from office. The UN still supports Maduro.
Daily the TRNC Government blames the Greeks for the problems of Cyprus. The TRNC officials have attended more meetings and given more speeches than anyone can count, but the problem has not been moved one centimeter. TRNC officials have been contacted numerous times about steps that would resolve the disputes between north and south Cyprus, but have been unresponsive. The suggestion of an outsider is like a confrontation to a Turkish official. They are resolute to do nothing on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot people. They defend their ground like it is Gallipoli.
The solution is quite simple. The TRNC or US Ambassador through the Secretary of State should ask President Trump to appoint an envoy as the President’s personal representative. The person should be knowledgeable in the history 
of relations between Greece and Turkey, and the issues in Cyprus. President Trump, unlike all the other US Presidents, will take immediate action.
The action to take is for the US and TRNC to establish mutual diplomatic relations and commercial trade. The OIC countries will do the same. The TRNC will get economically stronger. The incomes of Turkish Cypriots will increase, and the TRNC will no longer have its hand out begging for financial support from Turkey. The TRNC will strengthen its own identity.
The TRNC Government will not ask for help like the soldiers at Gallipoli, or Ismet Inonu at Eskisehir. The Greek Army at Eskisehir was about to wipe out the Turkish Army. The Turkish Army was only saved, because Gazi Mustafa Kemal ordered his good friend to retreat to fight another day at the Sakarya River. There is no Gazi in the TRNC, or official who has learned from the Gazi. The Turkish Cypriot persona is preventing peace and prosperity from developing in the TRNC.
Until someone figures out how to contact President Trump so the plight of the Turkish Cypriot people can be addressed, both north and south Cyprus are at great risk.
Jennings is correct in identifying the cause of the Cyprus problem (Greek ambition for megali idea) but he is wrong in concluding that a solution can be found by the US in two days. The Greek lobby in the US is extremly powerful and no US presiden, democrat or republican, would risk losing favor with that lobby. If this was not the case, a solution would have been found a long time ago. Sad but true.
Thank you Aysel Basci for your comments. I agree that the Greek lobby in the US is strong. President Trump is different from all other Presidents the US has had. He does not care about the Greek lobby. He just declared a National Emergency to spend $8 billion the Congress would not give him. The Democrats are a much stronger lobby than the Greeks, and Trump just bull dozed the Democrats under. He is very forceful. He made an issue with the German people of Angela Merkel buying gas from Russia. That shocked the political structure of Germany and she is on her way out of politics. He muscles everyone in his way. Even the Russian bank Gazprombank will now no longer extend credit to Maduro for fear of Trump. If we can speak to Trump, he will end the crisis in Cyprus that is a threat to Greek Cypriots as well as Turkish Cypriots. You and your friends should contact the US Ambassador in south Cyprus telling her if she cares about the future of the Greek Cypriots, she should contact Secretary Pompeo with a request that President Trump appoint an independent envoy for Cyprus.
Why not Tweet him? He is solving many of his issues there.
Is this really true?
“If you want to work for the US Federal Government, have a long, successful career, and get promoted, you have to support the Democratic Party”
In the last 50 years the following have been President:
Richard Nixon (Republican) 1969-1974
Gerald Ford (Republican) 1974-1976
Jimmy Carter (Democrat) 1976-1981
Ronald Reagan (Republican) 1981-1989
George H.W. Bush (Republican) 1989-1993
Bill Clinton (Democrat) 1993-2001
George W. Bush (Republican) 2001-2009
Barack Obama (Democrat) 2009-2017
Donald Trump (Republican) 2017-date
So a Democrat has been President for 12 out of the last 50 years and a Republican for 28. So on what basis is a being a Democrat a key to a long successful career? The facts suggest otherwise.
Mitt Romney when running for President answered your comment well. He said it is hard to compete with Santa Claus. The appeal of the Democratic Party is free and you do not have to work. Many people have embraced that. In New York, for example, where I live, 46% of all taxes are paid by the top 1%. Trump is trying to change that. The tax bill passed by Trump limits the tax deduction for interest and real estate taxes to $10,000.
The Governor of NY, Democrat Cuomo, said NY had a shortfall of tax revenue of $2.3 Billion, which was 50% of the anticipated revenue. Other Democratic states of New Jersey and Connecticut had the same experience. The wealthy are moving to lower tax states. Amazon was just told by these Democrats that New York City does not want its 25,000 new jobs. A very large number of Americans live on the income of other people. Republicans, even smart ones like Romney, do not know how to reply to free. So the Democrats dominate the Federal Government. Here is one telling response.
I asked a customer who lives in Virginia just outside of Washington whether she and her husband were Republicans or Democrats. Her reply was “my husband works for the FBI. We are Democrats, of course.”
Sorry there were typos, it should have read 21 years of Democrat Presidency not 12, but that still means Republicans have been in office for most of the last half century.
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USA’s political leaders have a constitutional mandate to promote security and prosperity for the American people. In what way adopting the TRNC’s official position on the cyprus problem promotes american interests?
The role of the USA is NOT to adopt the official position of the TRNC, just as the USA should not take the position of the Greek Cypriots.
The US should mediate the dispute, which it can do, to settle this 600 year old conflict. Today the Greek Cypriots are at great risk. The Turkish Cypriots are oppressed with the embargo in effect.
The two sides have a history of war and killing innocent people. That could happen again, especially now with gas being the prize for the victor. Is there anyone who cares about peace and prosperity who would exercise the initiative to contact the US Ambassador in Cyprus? Why is everyone among the sheep?
theres no gain for the Americans to solve any Cyprus issues. They need the devide so the Russians don’t get a hold of the aircraft carrier cyprus is, they need fast access to the Middle East. The Greeks know this. And Kissinger encouraged turkey to invade in 1974 it’s very simple.
The US has a fleet of aircraft carriers complete with all the support on those ships that the planes require.
There is nothing in Cyprus the US needs. The US wants peace between two NATO allies of the US – Greece and Turkey. Who knows what Kissinger really did. He was a secretive figure.
Turkey decided to defend the Turkish Cypriots in 1964 and 1974 from attacks by the Greeks, and anything Kissinger might have said would not have made any difference. Turkey partitioned Cyprus to prevent future attacks after all the violence from 1960 to 1974.
That partitioning, plus the Turkish troops on the island, has brought peace and prevented a lot of people, both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, from being killed. The US today is not following any instructions Kissinger might have left behind. Cyprus remains unsolved simply because the one person who would solve the problems is uninformed about the issues.