Oil Wars: The Clintons,a Pipeline and Greek Syrtaki

The discovery in late 2010 of the huge natural gas bonanza off Israel’s Mediterranean shores triggered other neighboring countries to look more closely at their own waters. The results revealed that the entire eastern Mediterranean is swimming in huge untapped oil and gas reserves. That discovery is having enormous political, geopolitical as well as economic consequences. It well may have potential military consequences too.

Preliminary exploration has confirmed similarly impressive reserves of gas and oil in the waters off Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and potentially, Syria.

Greek ‘energy Sirtaki’

Not surprisingly, amid its disastrous financial crisis the Greek government began serious exploration for oil and gas. Since then the country has been in a curious kind of a dance with the IMF and EU governments, a kind of “energy Sirtaki” over who will control and ultimately benefit from the huge resource discoveries there.

In December 2010, as it seemed the Greek crisis might still be resolved without the by-now huge bailouts or privatizations, Greece’s Energy Ministry formed a special group of experts to research the prospects for oil and gas in Greek waters. Greece’s Energean Oil & Gas began increased investment into drilling in the offshore waters after a successful smaller oil discovery in 2009. Major geological surveys were made. Preliminary estimates now are that total offshore oil in Greek waters exceeds 22 billion barrels in the Ionian Sea off western Greece and some 4 billion barrels in the northern Aegean Sea.[1]

The southern Aegean Sea and Cretan Sea are yet to be explored, so the numbers could be significantly higher. An earlier Greek National Council for Energy Policy report stated that “Greece is one of the least explored countries in Europe regarding hydrocarbon (oil and gas-w.e.) potentials.”[2] According to one Greek analyst, Aristotle Vassilakis, “surveys already done that have measured the amount of natural gas estimate it to reach some nine trillion dollars.” [3] Even if only a fraction of that is available, it would transform the finances of Greece and the entire region.

Tulane University oil expert David Hynes told an audience in Athens recently that Greece could potentially solve its entire public debt crisis through development of its new-found gas and oil. He conservatively estimates that exploitation of the reserves already discovered could bring the country more than €302 billion over 25 years. The Greek government instead has just been forced to agree to huge government layoffs, wage cuts and pension cuts to get access to a second EU and IMF loan that will only drive the country deeper into an economic decline.

Notably, the IMF and EU governments, among them Germany, demand instead that Greece sell off its valuable ports and public companies, among them of course, Greek state oil companies, to reduce state debt. Under the best of conditions the asset selloffs would bring the country perhaps €50 billion.[5] Plans call for the Greek state-owned natural gas company, DEPA, to privatize 65% of its shares to reduce debt.[6] Buyers would likely come from outside the country, as few Greek companies are in a position in the crisis to take it.

One significant problem, aside from the fact the IMF demands Greece selloff its public oil interests, is the fact that Greece has not declared a deeper exclusive economic zone like most other countries which drill for oil. There was seen little need until now. An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) gives a state special mineral rights in its declared waters under the Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which came into force in November 1994. Under UNCLOS III, a nation can claim an EEZ of 200 nautical miles from its coastline.[7]

Turkey has previously stated it would consider it an act of war if Greece drilled further into the Aegean. [8] Until now that did not seem to have serious economic consequences, as no oil or gas reserves were known. Now it’s an entirely different ballgame.

Evangelos Kouloumbis, former Greek Industry Minister recently stated that Greece could cover “50% its needs with the oil to be found in offshore fields in the Aegean Sea, and the only obstacle to that is the Turkish opposition for an eventual Greek exploitation.”[9]

Hillary dances the Sirtaki too…

In July 2011 Washington joined the Greek energy Sirtaki. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew to Athens with energy on her mind. That was clear by the fact she brought with her her Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy, Richard Morningstar. Morningstar was husband Bill Clinton’s Special Advisor to the President on Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy, and one of the Washington strategic operatives in the geopolitical battles to dismember the Soviet Union and surround a chaos-ridden Russia with hostile pro-NATO former states of the USSR. Morningstar, along with his controversial aide, Matthew Bryza, have been the key Washington architects of Washington’s geopolitically-motivated oil and gas pipeline projects that would isolate Russia and its Gazprom gas resources from the EU. Bryza is an open opponent of Russian Gazprom’s South Stream gas pipeline that would transit the eastern Mediterranean states.[10] Clearly the Obama Administration is not at all neutral about the new Greek oil and gas discoveries. Three days after Hillary left Athens the Greek government proposed creation of a new government agency to run tenders for oil and gas surveys and ultimate drilling bids.

Morningstar is the US specialist in economic warfare against Russian energy diplomacy. He was instrumental in backing the controversial B-T-C oil pipeline from Baku through Tbilisi in Georgia across to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, a costly enterprise designed solely to bypass Russian oil pipeline transit. He has openly proposed that Greece and Turkey drop all historic differences over Cyprus, over numerous other historic issues and agree to jointly pool all their oil and gas reserves in the Aegean Sea. He also has told the Greek government it should forget cooperation with Moscow on the South Stream and Bourgas-Alexandroupolis gas pipeline projects. [11]

According to a report from Greek political analyst Aristotle Vassilakis published in July 2011, Washington’s motive for pushing Greece to join forces with Turkey on oil and gas is to force a formula to divide resulting oil and gas revenues. According to his report, Washington proposes that Greece get 20% of revenues, Turkey another 20% and the US-backed Noble Energy Company of Houston Texas, the company successfully drilling in the Israeli and Greek offshore waters, would get the lion’s share of 60%.[12]

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s husband, Bill, is a Washington lobbyist for Noble Energy. [13]

And some Cyprus complications…

As if these geopolitical complications were not enough, Noble Energy, has also discovered huge volumes of gas off the waters of the Republic of Cyprus. In December 2011 Noble announced a successful well offshore Cyprus in a field estimated to hold at least 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Noble’s CEO, Charles Davidson remarked to the press, “This latest discovery in Cyprus further highlights the quality and significance of this world-class basin.” [14]

Cyprus is a complicated piece of real estate. In the 1970’s as declassified US Government documents recently revealed, then-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger actively encouraged and facilitated arms to the Turkish regime of Kissinger’s former Harvard student and then- Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, to stage a military invasion of Cyprus in 1974, in effect partitioning the island between an ethnically Turkish north and an ethnically Greek Republic of Cyprus in the south, a division which remains. The Kissinger strategy, backed by the British was believed intended to create a pretext for a permanent US and British military listening post in the eastern Mediterranean during the Cold War.[15]

Today the ethnically Greek south, where Noble has discovered large gas deposits, is a member of the EU. Its President, Demetris Christofias, is the only national leader in the European Union who is a communist. He is also a close friend of Israel, and of Russia. In addition, he is a major critic of American foreign policy, as well as of Turkey.[16]

Now Israel is planning to build an underwater gas pipeline from the Israeli Levantine fields across Cyprus waters onto the Greek mainland where it would be sold on the EU market. The Cyprus and Israel governments have mutually agreed on delimitation of their respective economic zones, leaving Turkey in the cold. Turkey openly threatened Cyprus for signing the agreement with Noble Energy. That led to a Russian statement that it would not tolerate Turkish threats against Cyprus, further complicating Turkish-Russian relations. [17]

Turkish-Israeli relations, once quite friendly, have become increasingly strained in recent years under the Erdogan foreign policies. Ankara has expressed concern about Israel’s recent ties with its historic antagonists, Greece and the Greek side of Cyprus. Turkey’s ally the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, fears it could miss out on its fair share of the gas after Israel and Nicosia signed an agreement to divide the 250 kilometers of sea that separate them.[18]

It becomes evident, especially when we glance at a map of the eastern Mediterranean, that the oil and gas prospective bonanza there is a rapidly unfolding conflict zone of tectonic magnitude involving strategic US, Russian, EU, Israeli and Turkish, Syrian and Lebanese interest

[Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL) believes that the company will hit the upper end of its production guidance range for the first quarter of 2012, as the company benefits from stronger performance at its properties in West Africa and the United States.

 

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2012 Production
Noble Energy estimated that production in the first quarter of 2012 would average between 228,000 to 236,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day. The company now believes that actual first quarter production will be at the upper end of that range.

The energy giant said that the optimism on production is due to higher production at both the Aseng Field in West Africa and the Denver Julesburg Basin in the U.S.

Aseng Field
The Aseng Field is operated by Noble Energy and is located offshore Equatorial Guinea. This project started up production in late 2011 and has ramped up to gross production of 60,000 barrels per day as of March 2012. Noble Energy has a 30% ownership interest in this field.

The company is also on schedule for the development of the nearby Alen Field, which is also operated by the company. Production is expected to start up here at the end of 2013 at an initial gross rate of 37,500 barrels per day. Noble Energy has a 45% ownership interest in the Alen Field.

Other companies active in West Africa include Hess Corp, which has production from areas offshore and has reported several recent discoveries in this region.

Total (NYSE:TOT) is the operator of the CLOV Project located on Block 17 in offshore Angola. The project will produce from four separate offshore fields and will start production in 2014. Other operators involved with this project include Statoil (NYSE:STO), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and BP (NYSE:BP).

 

Denver Julesburg Basin
Noble Energy is also finding greater success on its properties in the Denver Julesburg Basin, where the company is developing the Niobrara formation. The company is currently producing 74,000 BOE per day from here, up 12% sequentially from the final quarter of 2011.

Noble Energy is expanding horizontal development of this formation and estimated that production from these wells will reach 32,000 BOE per day by the end of 2012.

Noble Energy is also experimenting with extended reach wells in the Wattenberg Fields and estimates that the better performance of these wells will lead to estimated ultimate recoveries of 750,000 BOE per well. The company is optimistic on the long term potential of the Niobrara and recently added an additional 48,000 net acres.

New Play
Noble Energy is not just counting on the company’s existing developments for future growth, and has established a new position in an undisclosed onshore conventional oil play in the United States. The company has 316,000 net acres under lease and estimates that its net risked resources at this play total 500 million BOE.

The Bottom Line
Noble Energy is a diversified oil and gas company that does not shy away from higher risk exploration in international areas. These investments have now paid off for the company through higher than expected production in 2012. The company is also continuing to invest for future growth in both domestic and international areas.

Read more: ]

The Clintons and the Battle for Greek oil – documentary

DOCUMENTARY HERE

Bill Clinton, a lobbyist for Noble Energy.

The Eastern Mediterranean has a huge amount of oil and gas.

The Eastern Mediterranean means Libya, Egypt, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus, Turkey and Greece.

The conflicts in those countries are partly linked to oil.

On 5 March 2012, at Global Research, F. William Engdahl wrote about the new Mediterranean oil and gas bonanza

According to Engdahl:

1. Greece may have a very large amount of oil and gas.

According to Greek analyst, Aristotle Vassilakis, “surveys already done that have measured the amount of natural gas estimate it to reach some nine trillion dollars.”

This would transform the finances of Greece.

Tulane University oil expert David Hynes estimates that the oil and gas already discovered could bring Greece more than €302 billion over 25 years.

2. But, Greece has been forced to sell off ports and Greek state oil companies, to reduce government debt.

These sales could bring Greece perhaps €50 billion.

Foreigners may end up owning most of the Greek state-owned natural gas company, DEPA.

3. The Obama regime wants US oil companies to get the bulk of the oil and gas in the waters off Greece and Turkey, with Turkey and Greece sharing what’s left.

According to a report from Greek political analyst Aristotle Vassilakis, the USA proposes that Greece get 20% of revenues, Turkey 20% and the Noble Energy Company of Houston Texas, the company already drilling in Israeli and Greek waters, would get 60%.

Bill Clinton is a Washington lobbyist for Noble Energy.

4. Noble Energy has discovered huge amounts of gas near Cyprus.

Declassified US government documents suggest that US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger helped Turkey invade Cyprus in 1974, and set up Turkish-Northern-Cyprus.

(The USA is still close to Turkey.)

Greek-Southern-Cyprus is supposedly a friend of Russia, and Israel.

Israel is planning to build a gas pipeline from the Israeli gas fields across Cyprus waters onto Greece, from where it would be sold to the EU.

 

 

Flashback: Greece oil drilling in 1971-74 Texaco, Chevron, C&K Petroleum, DA Oil, Ancar Oil, LVO, Calvin and Oceanic.

Greece is a net energy importer. Hellenic Petroleum (HP), a partially state-owned company, conducts oil exploration, imports crude and products, operates two large refineries, and distributes and markets oil products. Oil is the major import with an estimated 429,000 b/d imported in 2003. In 2004, Regal Petroleum (RP), which is the only producer in Greece, produced 2,761 bbl/d of oil, all from the Prinos area in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Kavala. Figure 1 illustrates major drilling activity in Greece and neighboring countries.
With natural gas reserves of only 35 Bcf, Greece produces negligible amounts of natural gas. Consumption, however, has taken off in the last few years and is expected to increase dramatically in the coming decade. Many analysts believe that there is potential for further oil discoveries in Greece, but extensive oil exploration activity has not yet occurred and would require significant foreign investment.
Exploration history
Herodotus (484 to 424 BC) first mentioned an oil show on Zakynthos Island, western Greece, which is still active (at Keri). Oil shows, however, did not attract attention until the beginning of the 20th century. The first exploration for hydrocarbon (HC) sources in Greece began in 1903 with the concession of the island of Zakynthos to the London Oil Development Co. Ltd. In 1938, Chellis began exploration in West Thrace and then in northwest Peloponnesos (NWP) and Zakynthos. In 1940 to 1945, Italian and German armies started drilling exploration wells in the Ioannina region without any success. In 1960, oil companies such as BP, Esso, Rap-ilios and Safor held concessions for similar explorations in other regions of Greece, such as the Ionian Islands, Peloponnesos, Dodecanesos, Aitoloakarnania, Thrace, etc. BP undertook systematic exploration activity from 1961 to 1964 and drilled two wells, Astakos-1 and Aitolikon-1, in the center of the area which was proposed for further exploration in late ’90s . Only 28 bbl of oil were produced from the Aitolikon well. However, thickness of the pay (9.8 ft or 3 m) and the low productivity of the yellow-orange high-gravity oil forced abandonment. In 1969, exploration was extended to the maritime area, with concessions to foreign companies such as Texaco, Chevron, C&K Petroleum, DA Oil, Ancar Oil, LVO, Calvin and Oceanic. Likewise, a concession was granted for exploration to the Anshutz Co. in the Thessaloniki-Epanomi region, where it drilled two wells from 1971 to 1974, but without any results.
In 1973 to 1974, maritime exploration led to the discovery of the first exploitable oil deposit in the region of Thasos (Prinos and South Kavala). In 1975, DEP (present HP) was established, after the successful discovery of the Prinos and South Kavala deposits, with the purpose of developing the oil industry in Greece throughout all its phases. DEP initiated oil exploration in 1976 employing land and marine seismic surveys followed by drilling.
Exploration targets were limited to the Neogene clastic sediments. Generally speaking the targets were not deep reservoirs. However, the Prinos fields, which began production in 1976, were operated by the US-Greek-Canadian North Aegean Petroleum Co. (NAPC) consortium.
As a result of HP’s exploratory campaign, an oil field was discovered in 1980 offshore western Peloponnesos nearby Katakolon. The reservoir rock in Katakolon is eroded Cretaceous carbonates covered by Plio-pleistocene clastics.
In 1997, the government signed four contracts with an Anglo-American consortium for oil exploration and exploitation in four stretches in western Greece near Ioannina, the NWP, in Aitoloakarnania and Gulf of Patraikos. The contracts for Ioannina and NWP were granted to a consortium comprising the companies Enterprise Oil Ltd, Union Texas Ltd, Mol Ltd and HP. The other contracts, i.e. for Aitolokarnania and Gulf of Patraikos, were granted to Triton Ltd and HP. Enterpise drilled two wells in NWP, the Artemis-1 and Apollo-1, and one in Ioannina area, the Demetra-1. Triton Ltd drilled two wells in the Aitoloakarnania area, the Evinos-1 and Trifos South-1. The wells were plugged and abandoned and classified as dry with oil shows.
The Greek firm Kavala Oil, which took over production from NAPC in February 2001, managed to extract 3,000 b/d. In January 2004, a UK-based exploration company with a majority stake in Kavala Oil, Regal Petroleum, found “considerable potential” for reserves to exceed estimates of 227 million bbl. Regal made plans to raise the oilfield’s production up to 15,000 b/d as a result of the discovery. In September 2004, Regal announced that the Greater Kallirachi field holds up to 1 billion bbl of light crude. Third-party reserve auditors confirmed the findings. RP drilled the Kallirachi-1 and Kallirachi-2 and pierced four prospective Miocene zones. The company spent US $60 million in the past 2 years, $20 million to upgrade existing wells and facilities and $20 million each on the two dry holes, according to the June 19, 2005, Financial Times. After these disappointing findings RP lowered reserve estimates to 24 million bbl.
Exploration targets
The majority of the wells drilled before
the 1980s were selected solely on the basis of surface geology without advanced geophysical support. After that time, drilling activity was controlled solely by HP. Joint ventures between HP and experienced oil companies were not encouraged till 1995. Geological surveys, although locally controlled by some rather deep wells, have not yet been capable of providing a comprehensive and reliable picture of relatively deep geological structures.
However, in western Greece there are basins with significant hydrocarbon potential, and three of these are located in a continuous sedimentary belt trending north-south along the western margin of the country. In this area, there is more geological data available than in any other locality, although the Thessaloniki and Thrace basins have also experienced concentrated exploration activity in the early 1980s. Production has been established in South Italy and Albania in a similar geological setting. Western Greece is covered by northwest-southeast trending geotectonic units constituting the southern prolongation of the oil producing Albania. It can be safely stated that there is a great possibility for commercial production to be established in western Greece, which is an area of active oil seeps, repeated oil shows in wells, completed wildcat tests, thick dark-colored bituminous carbonate rocks and sustained (though minor) production. Geochemical and geological studies already undertaken are encouraging for further exploration activities.
The Triassic evaporitic sequence – at least 6,562 ft (2,000 m) thick – was never fully penetrated by any well, and the underlying rock, a possible reservoir, remains an unknown unit in terms of age, thickness, lithology and the type of hydrocarbons it contains (Figure 2).
As far as profitability is concerned, benefits from a successful pre-drilling investigation program are foreseen despite the intrinsic risks of such projects. The tracing and eventual mapping of the evaporitic sequence should be the primary target in various projects before drilling. The interactive data evaluation combined with the overlapping information of the various geophysical methods involved would normally lead towards a comprehensive picture of the deep geological structure. The existing dynamic software and drilling technology can provide invaluable information in order to depict the targeted reservoir horizons in western Greece.
Other both onshore and offshore areas merits exploration and a brief description for all of them is listed

 

The “Orthodox” Pipeline: Burgas-Alexandroupoli that was never built

 

The campaign of the US and Israel together with some European countries, especially Britain and France, against Iran reaches a new level with the embargo on its oil sector. Although a framework of agreement within the EU is reached, the Greek position within this hostile climate is unique.

The Iran situation combines with the freezing of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline project (also called called “Orthodox Pipeline”) which Bulgaria froze under heavy United States influence (as explained later) to make things more outrageous against the right of Greece to choose its energy sources.

Greece is both in the middle of the economic crisis which started in the US with the Lehman Brothers collapse, as well as the Iran-related crisis on its nuclear programme and the sanctions. The EU deliberations to embargo oil shipments from Iran connected these two different situations, under a climate of an outraged Greek public opinion against EU and US for what is perceived as sick injustice against Greece.

To make a long story short, an outside observer needs to take into consideration the following points in order to have an accurate perception of the issue and the elements connected to Greece:

• Greece relies more than 35% on Iran for oil purchase with unlimited credit.
• No other country sells to Greece in that way due to the economic situation.
• The option of Saudi Arabia is fragile due to this country’s support for extremist Islamic activity, especially within the almost 1,500,000 illegal immigrants in Greece (mostly Muslim) who also contribute to the unemployment explosion, in knowledge of the EU and US.
• There is no real trust from Greeks to the West that Greece will continue to get oil from other sources in favorable terms. After all why don’t they do it now and only Iran does it?
• There is not trust for the western accusations on the Iranian nuclear programme, because US and western credibility was practically neutralized, after the “discovery” of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that were non existent. The totally biased and anti-hellenic media coverage of the economic crisis reinforces Greek reluctance towards western governments and Media.
• The freezing of the Greek-Russian-Bulgarian project for the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline (due to its US-instigated abandonment from the Bulgarian government) combines with prohibiting Iran as supplier and makes Greeks realizing that the US and EU deny Greece the right to choose suitable suppliers: a kind of forbidding Greece to have free choice.
• US and EU mobility to allow British Petroleum continue doing business with Iran in the Shah Deniz II gas project is seen as an outspoken proof of hypocrisy. The reason US and EU officials lobbied to the US Congress for not putting sanctions on British Petroleum, is in order for Europe “to achieve energy security and independence from Russia”: They revealed their real target which is Russia and perhaps China.
• None of them was interested on Greece when Greece was trying to achieve energy security and independence from Turkey through the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline (which would also enhance European independence from Turkey). They want Greece, however, to support their policy towards Iran, risk Greek oil supplies and reserves and at the same time keep the British company in Iran!!!
• Why not similarly giving Greece exemption from the sanctions against Iran, since Iran is the only reliable oil source for Greece which does not ask Greece for advance guarantees and Greece gets long term good prices in the difficult situation that the economic crisis put it.
• Wikileaks documents from the US State Department revealed that previous US pressure on Athens mainly aimed at having Greece as one more “feather in the hat” of Washington. The Americans wanted to demonstrate that European countries were aligned with US policy and Greece was one of the country-trophies. The IRISL Iranian Shipping Lines was the main US target and Greek ship owners were opposing the idea to stop transporting Iranian oil.

Hundreds of millions penalty on Bulgaria

The Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline project aims to transport Russian oil to Bulgaria and send it to the Greek port of Alexandroupolis through a land based pipeline. In this way there will be no need to pass the busy and unstable area of the Turkish-controlled straits between the Black Sea and Mediterranean. Oil would be loaded to ships in Alexandroupolis to go to Europe and elsewhere. It is also ecologically safer since the tanker ships would avoid the trip from Russia to Mediterranean, they will be strained less and the possibility of oil leak would be limited. Delivery times would be faster as well.

The openly pro-US Bulgarian prime minister, stopped the project … “on environmental concerns” (although all studies were giving a green light to the project) because “the people of Burgas did not want it” and because it is not financially viable. It was called “Orthodox Pipeline” because Greece, Russia and Bulgaria are Orthodox Christian countries and the freezing was seen as an American attempt to block Russian expansion in the energy sector even if Greece and Bulgaria were also damaged. The extreme Protestant neo-conservatives in Washington instigated this hostile move against Orthodox countries.

Bulgaria, however, will have to pay penalties for blocking the project. The recent Iran oil embargo surfaced related issues, including the one of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline. The cost for transporting oil through this “Orthodox Pipeline” was calculated at $8 per tone which is almost the same to the one across the straits. The Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline was having higher cost and Turkey asks for a large share of the income. The US intervention in Bulgaria probably had Turkish support because it is forcing Russia not to seek alternative routes.

By pulling out of the project, Greek sources said, Bulgaria is obliged to pay penalties to Greece and Russia. The Greek officials were not the first to say that. Late last year Russian officials pointed out that the minimum penalty is $200.000.000. The maximum may reach the $1 billion level. The Bulgarian side already owed $7 million from its contribution to the project until now and at least the Russian side points out that they will get the Bulgarian government in International Court if they insist on not paying the fine, if the project is completely canceled.

The current embargo on Iranian oil and the global instability in the oil trade that will probably occur, highlight the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline project with greater urgency. It would help the European Union achieve independence from the unstable region of Turkey (due to the Kurdish, Armenian and Greek problems it faces), but non-european (American) interests block it.

The Greeks see that they are dragged to a situation without immediate Greek concern and with no real ethical base. The Iranian nuclear programme is not a serious topic for the Greek society in the hierarchy of concerns. However the difficult economic situation (in which Iran is the only supplier of oil offering unlimited credit) is now seen as being manufactured by the EU and the US. Just to make an outline of the injustice the Greek public sees in the western attack against Greece and its reputation, we mention the following:

• Germany owes many hundreds of billions of euros to Greece from the money the Nazis stole (“Forceful loan” from occupied Greece to Nazi Germany). Hitler started repaying the “loan” back to Greece but after the German collapse, the next German governments do not discuss the German debt to Greece. This amount together with all recognized German financial obligations towards Greece, surpasses 700,000,000,000 (700 billion) euros, in today’s prices if we take into account the interest rates. There is NO EXAGERATION in this, this is money Germany REALLY owes to Greece.
• The corruption money from defence procurement, the C4I System for the 2004 Olympic Games, etc are many tens of billion of euros and European (especially German) companies have a large share in this money laundering. This is money from Greek taxpayers which went to the pockets of sponsors of European (and other) political parties.
• Part of the Greek bonds, are corruption payments in defence and public procurement projects to foreign companies-political parties.
• The Greeks DID NOT want to abandon drachma. They did not want the euro, because there was no benefit for Greece, on the contrary the Greek society was damaged. Goldman Sachs, with the (German-educated) prime minister Kostas Simitis and in knowledge of Washington and Berlin, altered the Greek financial data. Berlin wanted one more country into the Eurozone, Washington wanted Greece to be used as trigger if it wanted to create problems in the European Union.
• No western Media (including the BBC) published any of these at least to a comparable degree with the attacks against Greece

Greece was called to agree to serve foreign interests (of doubtful information and ethical basis), participate in the embargo and enter into an energy risk, while those who ask Greece to do these, deliberately put it into this difficult economic situation. The first thing that should be done, is to make sure, those who owe money to Greece would pay and Greece would not have any financial problems. The Greeks did not realize that the top EU level have more corruption.