Ταυτότητα
άρθρου:
Sfikas, Thanasis D.. "Attlee, Bevin and
"A Very Lame Horse": The Dispute Over Greece and the Middle East,
December 1946-January 1947". Pella Publishing Company. 1992-09. Available electronically from http://hdl.handle.net/10066/5588.
While it may be
somewhat obscure, the dispute between Attlee and Bevin over Greece and the
Middle East in December 1946 through January 1947 is worth examining for
several reasons. Attlee's thesis represented a radical break from the strategic
premises that had shaped British policy in Greece during the first part of the
1940s. In this light, had the view of the British Prime Minister prevailed, the
course of Greek history in the latter part of the decade could have been
different. The dispute pertained to the entire British strategic position in
the Middle East, yet Attlee specifically referred to Greece as a prime example of
the difficulties besetting British policy in the region. The nature of
Anglo-American relations in the mid-1940s is also illustrated, especially with
regard to Britain's dependence on the United States for economic and diplomatic
support and her anxiety over future U.S. policy. A key aspect of the dispute is
that insofar as it linked the particular (Greece) with the general (the Middle
East), it affords an excellent opportunity to examine British perceptions about
the implications of change in one part of their imperial system—whether formal
or informal empire—for its other elements. The entire episode demonstrates that
for a better understanding of the British role in the Greek Civil War of
1946-1949, Labor's attitude towards Greece has to be placed in the far broader
edifice of Britain's external relations and policies. […]
