Most Dangerous Waters in the World Are in the Mediterranean
NATO is caught in a combustible mix of oil, Libyan arms and longstanding grievances between Greece and Turkey.
Greek ships headed to Turkey? It’s happened before.
Photographer: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images
As a Greek-American who lived in Athens for three years, and as a U.S. Navy mariner, I got to know the eastern Mediterranean well. It has been a strategic crossroads throughout history for Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Jews, Phoenicians, Romans, Crusaders and more modern sea warriors.
Whenever I’ve sailed the waters, during the Cold War and afterward, there has been intense disagreement about maritime boundaries, conflicting claims for natural resources, and other geopolitical pressures stemming from the unstable relations among Greece, Turkey, Israel, Cyprus and Syria.