Dr. Alex Bebler
The past year has been characterized in Greece, in the first place, by the fact that the organs of the United States of America have almost completely supplanted the British organs, and consequenly the expansion of foreign intervention has to be attributed chiefly to the Americans.
However, we would be unjust towards the United States of America if we failed to point out that American power was present in Greece from the very beginning of the British armed intervention, anticipating that Great Britain would one day be obliged to relinquish in favor of the United States of America the role of the leading power in Greece. That day arrived last year. Great Britain was no longer able to give sufficient support to the anti-national regime of the Athens Government, which faced the dissatisfaction of the huge majority of the Greek people. It became evident that the British intervention was bankrupt. The sending of the United States Mission, headed by Paul Porter, to Greece in January 1947, with the alleged task of studying the situation in Greece and recommending measures to be taken there was evidently intended to prepare American and world public opinion for open United States intervention in Greece. The speech of President Truman, delivered in March 1947, i.e. the proclamation of the "Truman Doctrine", the first version of the "Marshall Plan", as well as the authorization of the huge credit of 300 million dollars for "aid" to Greece, taken together clearly indicated that the United States of America judged that their moment had come to take over from Great Britain the leading role in Greece. Obviously the eye of the strategists of United States expansionistic policy for world domination discovered in Greece an important base and position in the Mediterranean, in front of the Suez and Dardanelles, on the doorstep of the young people's democracies, and on the approaches to the U.S.S.R.
With these aims in view it was necessary to maintain in power in Greece such a regime as would be ready to make that country play the role of an Anglo-American vanguard against the democratic and socialist countries, a regime which would make that country dependent on the American Empire now taking form, a regime ready to serve foreign masters in exchange for their support, and ready to sell its country to them.
The "Agreement on Economic Aid" concluded between the Government of the United States of America and the Athens Government on June 20, 1947, which provides for a special United States Mission as an organ to administer American assistance, shows what was the price of the American support given to the Tsaldaris regime. This so-called Agreement on Economic Aid is, in fact, an agreement on Greek capitulation. It enabled the United States of America to take into their hands, and bring under their control the whole economic and financial life of Greece, to make Greece totally dependent economically on the United States of America.
Already in May, 1947, before the signing of the above-mentioned Agreement, a Bulletin of the State Department of the United States of America revealed in the form of questions and answers, the aims of American economic policy in Greece. Thus to the 21st question which reads: "If the American Mission controls expenditures of funds, will they have the power to veto expenditures which they do not approve?" the Bulletin gave the following answer: "It is proposed that the American Mission by controlling the expenditure of funds, will have the power to veto expenditures of which they do not approve." Question 73 asked: "Does the United States Government intend to tell the Greek Government how it shall set up its Government budget, its tax system, its civil service system, and how to conduct its foreign trade, or other government activities, including development and training of the Greek Army with American weapons?" In answer to this question the above-mentioned State Department Bulletin textually said that: "It will be necessary that controls acceptable to the United States Government be established at key points, so that the funds and supplies made available are used to the best advantage."