Greece
Strategic Concepts & Mechanics
Primary Evidence
"And such princes come to be when a state is given to someone either for money or by the favor of whoever gives it, as happened to many in Greece, in the cities of Ionia and of the Hellespont, where they were made princes by Darius so that…"
"The most important contract for the expatriate Lebanese involved shipping four to five million tons of oil from Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, to Greece. Later, they secured a similar mission, where they were to transport 250,000 tons of oil per month from Saudi Arabia to Syria. Ordinary persuasion was not enough to secure the Syria job, but when a centrally placed contact was presented with a white bulletproof Rolls Royce, the Syrians became more receptive. Thus, the tankers went on shuttle traffic from the Persian Gulf, and money began to flow in. Over the next few years, up to 40 tankers were involved in this oil shipping, and Northern Shipping was the exclusive broker."
"The most important contract for the expatriate Lebanese involved shipping four to five million tons of oil from Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, to Greece. Later, they secured a similar mission, where they were to transport 250,000 tons of oil per month from Saudi Arabia to Syria. Ordinary persuasion was not enough to secure the Syria job, but when a centrally placed contact was presented with a white bulletproof Rolls Royce, the Syrians became more receptive. Thus, the tankers went on shuttle traffic from the Persian Gulf, and money began to flow in. Over the next few years, up to 40 tankers were involved in this oil shipping, and Northern Shipping was the exclusive broker."
"The most important contract for the expatriate Lebanese involved shipping four to five million tons of oil from Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, to Greece. Later, they secured a similar mission, where they were to transport 250,000 tons of oil per month from Saudi Arabia to Syria. Ordinary persuasion was not enough to secure the Syria job, but when a centrally placed contact was presented with a white bulletproof Rolls Royce, the Syrians became more receptive. Thus, the tankers went on shuttle traffic from the Persian Gulf, and money began to flow in. Over the next few years, up to 40 tankers were involved in this oil shipping, and Northern Shipping was the exclusive broker."
"May 2010 In the business magazine Forbes, Berggruen announces his rescue plan: "From California to Greece". For California, he announces a rescue package of 20 million dollars, an investment that is intended to help improve government work. For Greece, which has been heavily affected by the financial crisis, Berggruen sees a silver lining on the horizon. The newly elected Prime Minister Giorgos Andrea Papandreou is on the right track with his austerity course to avoid a state bankruptcy. Papandreou will be a welcome guest at Nicolas Berggruen's political town hall meetings in Paris and Berlin."