Hampering NATO manoeuvres!

The news that the Turkish government has denied access of Turkish airspace to Hellenic Air-Force fighters participating in the NATO exercise ‘Destined Glory’ pose serious questions concerning the credibility of our allies. The war in Yugoslavia last year clearly demonstrated how important it is to have capable forces that can easily operate within the NATO structure. ‘Destined Glory’ had already been carefully planned and the Greek fighters were expected to fly over parts of Turkey for DACT (Dissimilar Air Combat Tactics)with other NATO fighters. In a similar exercise, a few months ago, Turkish fighters had been given permission to fly over Greece and use the Larisa airbase, which is the HQ of the HAF, for the demands of the NATO operations. This unprecedented incident and the respective tolerance demonstrated by NATO officials leads to ‘friction’ within NATO, lack of both uniformity in expertise and common knowledge of tactics among the member forces. In other words the effectiveness and flexibility of the Organisation is undermined. Problems as such should, in my humble opinion, be dealt swiftly with determination, in order to maintain the credibility and overall potential of NATO.