The dispatch of 1,800 guards to the Greek - Turkish Evros border was to thwart a plan by Turkish authorities to flood Europe with Syrian refugees, thus forcing Europe to deal with the Syrian issue.
According to a
WikiLeaks report Turkish Intelligence Services MIT plan to send a small army of Syrian refugees, including extreme Islamists, into Greece. The MIT plot intended to force Europe to intervene on the Syrian issue and halt the flow of refugees into Turkey.
The report says "Total estimated at 800-1000 individuals who are, first, to 'take measure of" the Greek reaction and behind them is about a small 'army' 15-20000 Syrian refugees who for now are stacked in Turkish refugee camps."
Europeonline reported Turkey was becoming increasingly nervous about the number of Salafists seeping into Turkey with the refugees. They quote Turkish rights activist Mehmet Salmanoglu saying "Other kinds of people are arriving now. They are not Syrians. They are long-bearded men who have money.
"In Antakya locals are concerned "that military aid from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and some other Gulf countries to the Syrian rebels is promoting the presence of Islamists in Turkey." In turn, MIT are exploiting the situation by assisting extremists to gain entrance to Europe through the porous Turkish-Greek border.
In turn, pressure within Europe by increased Islamic immigration, could be the push the U.S. needs to impose a no-fly zone over Syria, with the aid of Europe as an ally.
Bloomberg reported former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen said the U.S. and its allies would probably take more aggressive action against the Assad regime.
Back to the WikiLeaks report. Greek Intelligence received the information about the MIT plan via Frontex and the German Intelligence Service, prompting direct action by Greek Prime Minister Anthonis Samaras to immediately
strengthen the border at Evros. Whilst Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Dendias said the additional guards was to halt the flow of illegal immigration to Greece, and a possible increase due to the Syrian situation, no Turkish plot was revealed at the time.
Germany "feared the existence of extreme Salafists among individuals of these groups of refugees."Following the tightening of the border and a clampdown on illegal immigrants in Athens, leading to arrests and deportations, Greece has been accused by human rights groups of acting illegally. However, it now appears that Greece had the support of Germany and Frontex, who felt the need to increase defenses against an influx of Islamic extremists. Greece alone has borne the insult for its "xenophobia" in the press.
