ABSTRACT
After the civil war, the alliance with the United States continued to be welcomed by the right and centre parties as a guarantee both of economic recovery and military security. Thus entry into the NATO in 1952 was seen as important for defence. It was American pressure that persuaded NATO partners to drop their initial objections to acceptance of Greece and Turkey, so extending the alliance to the eastern Mediterranean. Thereafter, it was through NATO that Greek operational planning integral to the American alliance was implemented. The United States continued to sup ply a large part of the Greek armed forces’ equipment and funding (over two billion dollars’ worth in the years 1948 to 1964). Under its Military Assistance Program from 1950 to 1969, the United States provided train ing, on US soil, to 11,229 officers and 1,965 students.1 Thus American representatives exercised direct influence over the armed forces, which en couraged officers to seek their favour. Papagos willingly agreed in 1953 to a treaty hosting US military bases, and granting virtually extraterritorial rights to American servicemen. From 1955 to 1976, the Ellenikon air base formed an American enclave on the outskirts of the metropolis. In 195960, a Greek government signed secret agreements to allow the installation in American bases of nuclear missiles, as well as the location in them of aircraft and artillery with nuclear capacity.
