The Global Intelligence Files,
files released so far...
2615
The Global Intelligence Files

### Index pages

List of Releases

### by Date of Document

unspecified
2001
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011

### by Date of Release

2001-03-13
2010-03-10
2011-03-05
2011-03-15
2012-01-29
2012-02-27
2012-02-28
2012-02-29
2012-03-01
2012-03-02
2012-03-03
2012-03-04
2012-03-05
2012-03-06
2012-03-07
2012-03-08
2012-03-09
2012-03-10
2012-03-11
2012-03-12
2012-03-13
2012-03-14
2012-03-15
2012-03-16
2012-03-17
2012-03-19
2012-03-20
2012-03-23
2012-03-25
2012-03-26
2012-03-27
2012-04-01
2012-04-02
2012-04-24
2012-04-26
2012-04-30
2012-05-10
2012-06-18
2012-06-20
2012-07-01
2012-07-24
2012-07-28
2012-07-29
2012-07-30
2012-07-31
2012-08-01
2012-08-02
2012-08-05
2012-08-06
2012-08-07
2012-08-08
2012-08-09
2012-08-10
2012-08-11
2012-08-12
2012-08-13
2012-08-14
2012-08-15
2012-08-16
2012-08-17
2012-08-18
2012-08-19
2012-08-20
2012-08-21
2012-08-22
2012-08-23
2012-08-24
2012-08-25
2012-08-26
2012-08-27
2012-08-29
2012-08-30
2012-08-31
2012-09-01
2012-09-02
2012-09-03
2012-09-04
2012-09-05
2012-09-06
2012-09-07
2012-09-09
2012-09-10
2012-09-11
2012-09-12
2012-09-13
2012-09-14

### Our Partners

ABC Color - Paraguay
Al Akhbar - Lebanon
Al Masry Al Youm - Egypt
Asia Sentinel - Hong Kong
Bivol - Bulgaria
Carta Capital - Brazil
CIPER - Chile
Dawn Media - Pakistan
L'Espresso - Italy
La Repubblica - Italy
La Jornada - Mexico
La Nacion - Costa Rica
Malaysia Today - Malaysia
McClatchy - United States
Nawaat - Tunisia
NDR/ARD - Germany
Owni - France
Pagina 12 - Argentina
Philip Dorling - Fairfax media contributor - Australia
Plaza Publica - Guatemala
Publica - Brazil
Publico.es - Spain
Rolling Stone - United States
Russian Reporter - Russia
Ta Nea - Greece
Taraf - Turkey
The Hindu - India
The Yes Men - Bhopal Activists
Sunday Star-Times - New Zealand

### Community resources

Supporters Support Wikileaks Follow us on Twitter Twitter this Follow us on Facebook

courage is contagious

# The Global Intelligence Files

On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.

## Re: GREECE - Greece just announced major surprise changes to its top brass

Released on 2012-03-07 18:00 GMT

Email-ID | 1017409
Date | 2011-11-01 23:10:48
From | kristen.cooper@stratfor.com
To | analysts@stratfor.com, friedman@att.blackberry.net
List-Name | analysts@stratfor.com

On it. Will send out compilation shortly of what we know.
--
Kristen A. Cooper
Eurasia Analyst
STRATFOR
T: (512) 744-4093 M: (512) 619-9414
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "George Friedman" <friedman@att.blackberry.net>
To: "Analyst List" <analysts@stratfor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 5:59:17 PM
Subject: Re: GREECE - Greece just announced major surprise changes to
its top brass
Agree completely with kristen. No sane politician would do this without a
reason. Jest happened is crap.
Someone start crawling over facts and sources. This is a nato matter so
brussels should be buzzing.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Kristen Cooper <kristen.cooper@stratfor.com>
Sender: analysts-bounces@stratfor.com
Date: Tue, 1 Nov 2011 16:52:43 -0500 (CDT)
To: Analyst List<analysts@stratfor.com>
ReplyTo: Analyst List <analysts@stratfor.com>
Subject: Re: GREECE - Greece just announced major surprise changes to its
top brass
I'm mostly trying to play devil advocate here - but if these are issues
that were long-standing or of limited significance why announce this when
the entire cabinet including the minister of defense is supposed to be in
an emergency cabinet?
--
Kristen A. Cooper
Eurasia Analyst
STRATFOR
T: (512) 744-4093 M: (512) 619-9414
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Nate Hughes" <nate.hughes@stratfor.com>
To: "Analyst List" <analysts@stratfor.com>
Cc: "Kristen Cooper" <kristen.cooper@stratfor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 5:35:41 PM
Subject: Re: GREECE - Greece just announced major surprise changes to its
top brass
another demographic to keep in mind is the civilian employees of the MoD
(don't know if this is who we're talking about here or not...). These guys
traditionally enjoy the privileges of state employees in terms of pension
benefits and job security, but are likely to take a big -- even
disproportionate -- hit as the military institutes whatever cuts but tries
to retain as much combat capability as possible...
On 11/1/11 4:26 PM, Kristen Cooper wrote:
the Association of Support and Cooperation of the State Armed Forces
That is the equivalent of the military's union and its not clear who the
"executives of the Greek Armed Forces is". The defense ministry was the
first to condemn these guys.
It is not at all clear that this was a cabinet decision. He needs the
support of the whole cabinet and the Prime Minister and the President to
do this.
On Nov 1, 2011, at 5:18 PM, Benjamin Preisler wrote:
This is not the retired officers:
On Sunday in a measured but pointed open letter to the government, the
Association of Support and Cooperation of the State Armed Forces, the
professional association of full-time staff, warned that the Greek
Armed Forces are monitoring the governmenta**s moves a**with increased
concerna** and that their confidence in the a**intentions of the
statea** have been a**shakena**.
a**The executives of the Greek Armed Forces are monitoring with
increased concern the latest developments regarding issues related to
their needs after retirement,a** the letter reads.
If the Defense Minister is acting on a cabinet decision I don't see
why he wouldn't have the power to do that.
On 11/01/2011 09:49 PM, Kristen Cooper wrote:
The defense minister saying he is going to replace the military
leadership that was appointed by the party that appointed him as
defense minister with his "own people".
That isn't normal. The defense minister does not have the power to
legally do that on his own.
Papandreou just finished up his speech to the parliament like 30
mins ago. The finance minister, Venizelos, never attended -
allegedly for health reasons.
There are varying degrees between military coup and routine shuffle.
If the prime minister is about to be outed - maybe this is about
cutting out the people that are more loyal to him than to the party.
If PASOK is about lose control over the government, it doesn't
matter who they appoint because the new government would just
replace them.
Also, the "trouble brewing in the ranks" that you are referring to
is from retired officers who want their pension funds paid in full.
That is different than dissent from active members of the military.
I'm not saying this is a coup - but it is unusual and, I don't buy
resistance to budget cuts as a sufficient answer - particularly when
its unclear who is going to be responsible for enacting those budget
cuts at the moment.
On Nov 1, 2011, at 4:32 PM, Benjamin Preisler wrote:
I think the military coup theory is a bit far-fetched honestly.
This was announced earlier as probably happening today:
On Tuesday, he convened an unscheduled meeting of the Government
Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence, the supreme
decision-making body on national defense.
According to sources within the ministry quoted by Greek daily
Eleftherotypia, Beglitis is planning to replace the leadership of
the military with "his own people." Unnamed officials described
his actions as "politically mad" and "militarily dangerous."
http://euobserver.com/19/114133
We also knew that trouble had been brewing in the ranks:
http://euobserver.com/13/113821
On 11/01/2011 07:48 PM, Kristen Cooper wrote:
All of the replaced officers were appointed by the ruling party
in 2009 and 2010. They knew cuts to the military budget were
coming - and they haven't made a show of resisting them.
--
Kristen A. Cooper
Eurasia Analyst
STRATFOR
T: (512) 744-4093 M: (512) 619-9414
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Nate Hughes" <nate.hughes@stratfor.com>
To: "Analyst List" <analysts@stratfor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 2:08:43 PM
Subject: Re: GREECE - Greece just announced major surprise
changes to its top brass
no, but the perception within the Greek government may have been
that these leaders were unwilling to accept cuts below a certain
level. They may have replaced them with more ambitious,
politically malleable replacements willing to accept deeper cuts
without making a public show of it. That may be a perception or
based on internal signals from these guys. We haven't seen
anything publicly.
That's a potential scenario, not necessarily what's going on.
Point is that this isn't about solving Greece's problems, but
that given all the political shuffling in Greece, there are a
dozen viable scenarios where this is just a symptom or
reflection of all of the broader shuffling.
The only critical potential red alert scenario we need to be
examining right now is either the pre-emptive move to stave off
a coup or setting the stage for some sort of military-instigated
hail mary by the powers that be to change the equation since the
existing equation is intolerable and insoluble. As long as this
isn't one of those two -- either Greece just barely avoided a
military coup or is actually setting one up -- we can return to
our discussion from the blue sky.
On 11/1/11 12:54 PM, Reva Bhalla wrote:
replacing hte top brass doesn't resolve your need for massive
defense cuts
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Peter Zeihan" <zeihan@stratfor.com>
To: analysts@stratfor.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 12:52:22 PM
Subject: Re: GREECE - Greece just announced major surprise
changes to its top brass
just so we're all starting from the same place, we've seeing
NOTHING before today to suggest that a military government is
in the making
HOWEVER, this is a piece of the world that has wavered between
military control and non-statehood for about 2570 out of the
past 2700 years, some of which are within living memory -
democracy is not the normal state of affairs
as such military movements are something we've been keeping an
eye open for -- don't know (yet) if that's what we're seeing
here...it could simply be that massive defense cuts are needed
in order to meet budgetary goals (and greece has resisted them
strongly so far)
On 11/1/11 12:45 PM, Reva Bhalla wrote:
what talk has there been so far in Greece of imposing
emergency rule by the military/govt? im sure that's
something they've had to contemplate. what's the nature of
mil-civ relations in Greece?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Bayless Parsley" <bayless.parsley@stratfor.com>
To: "Analyst List" <analysts@stratfor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 12:44:25 PM
Subject: Re: GREECE - Greece just announced major surprise
changes to its top brass
this is not really helpful, only sending along because
apparently people in the financial world have been joking
about this as the optimal option for the past week.
The Appalling Greek Solution: A Military Coup
2 comments, 0 called-out
+ Comment now
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2011/10/26/the-real-greek-solution-a-military-coup/
Therea**s a not very funny joke going around the financial
markets at the moment, that the real solution to the Greek
problem is a military coup. (Just to make it clear, no, of
course Ia**m not advocating a coup. See below) Instead of
Germany trying to fund the Greek debt they should instead
sponsor such a coup:
Only half in jest is it sometimes said that a better use
for Germanya**s money than pouring it down the drain of
further bail-outs would be to sponsor a Greek military
coup and solve the problem that waya*|..
The reason being that a military dictatorship cannot be in
the European Union. Thus, if there was such a military coup
Greece would immediately have to leave the EU and thus
whatever happened to its economy would simply be someone
elsea**s problem.
Whata**s so sad, or bitter if you prefer, about the joke is
that, if we ignore the little problem of it being a military
dictatorship, this would in fact be a good solution to Greek
woes. They simply cannot, under any circumstances, pay the
current debts so theya**re going to have to default. But
default in itself doesna**t solve the major problem, which
is that theya**re caught in a monetary union at a price
which makes Greek labour woefully uncompetitive.
Which means in turn that Greek wages, Greek living
standards, have to fall in order to make that labour
competitive. Or, if you prefer, Greek labour productivity
needs to rise very strngly and very quickly. Either path is
extremely difficult and painful. The third alternative is
for Greece to leave the currency union and then devalue the
New Drachma.
However, the way that the European Union and the eurozone
are set up a country leaving the monetary union would be
considered to be a shocking defeat for the whole European
ideal. What the military coup would allow is, as I say
ignoring that little detail about it being a military coup,
what should probably happen and would certainly be the least
painful way for Greece to deal with its problems: default
and exit from the euro.
That we have to joke about such horrible things as a
military takeover though does show quite how dysfunctional
European politics has become. No one really wants to talk
about a dictatorship as the solution to a fairly simple
economic problem but that is what wea**re reduced to as the
current system simple will not take that reasonably simple
solution seriously.
Update: Ia**ve changed the headline from a**Reala** to
a**Appallinga** just to make clear that of course Ia**m not
advocating a coup. Yes, of course I know my Greek history. I
can see that therea**s at least one translation of this post
into Greek out there and I assume that some of the sublety
of the English language original has got lost. I was not, do
not and would not advocate something like a military coup as
a solution to a simple economic problem. The point of the
post was to point out that there is a dark and bitter joke
going around stating that given that the EU is so
mismanaging this situation then that might be the best path
left. No, no one who tells the joke nor I in repeating it
think that this is the best path: or even an acceptable one.
The point being made is that the EU is so mismanaging
matters. This is a dark and bitter comment on the EU, not
advocacy of a course of action.
On 11/1/11 12:28 PM, Kristen Cooper wrote:
Omar and Paul are helping me get the backgrounds on the
guys that were replaced and who they are being replaced
with.
If you are going to have a coup from the military against
the government then it usually comes from the lower
echelon guys - which these guys probably are not. But this
is the equivalent of Obama and Panetta replacing the
entire joint chiefs.
All of the guys on this committee are members of the
ruling cabinet - members of the Parliament. The parliament
is supposed to be on lockdown debating the no-confidence
vote. All other business is supposed to be on hold. In
that case, they shouldn't be holding this meeting at all.
Let alone making surprise announcements like that.
As prime minister, Papandreou is supposed to be on this
committee. We need to find out if he was there.
Another thing, until this June, the current finance
minister and deputy prime minister, Evangelos Venizelos,
was the national defence minster. So, in theory, he should
have a pretty close read on the military's top brass,
knowing who is loyal and who isn't.
--
Kristen A. Cooper
Eurasia Analyst
STRATFOR
T: (512) 744-4093 M: (512) 619-9414
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Omar Lamrani" <omar.lamrani@stratfor.com>
To: "Analyst List" <analysts@stratfor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 1:09:46 PM
Subject: Re: GREECE - Greece just announced major surprise
changes to its top brass
This is indeed rather huge. This is essentially replacing
the entire top military leadership in one go. There must
be a significant reason for this. Could it possibly be
military dissent against the Govt.?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Kristen Cooper" <kristen.cooper@stratfor.com>
To: "Analyst List" <analysts@stratfor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 11:59:33 AM
Subject: Fwd: GREECE - Greece just announced major
surprise changes to its top brass
The government committee that appoints the top brass for
all service divisions is composed entirely of the ruling
party. I'm looking into the history of these guys.
This is not typical to replace the head of all of your
armed forces in a surprise announcement all at once.
--
Kristen A. Cooper
Eurasia Analyst
STRATFOR
T: (512) 744-4093 M: (512) 619-9414
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Kristen Cooper" <kristen.cooper@stratfor.com>
To: watchofficer@stratfor.com, "Analyst List"
<analysts@stratfor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 12:53:50 PM
Subject: GREECE - Greece just announced major surprise
changes to its top brass
We need to look into this. I don't think this is routine
at first glance.
http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/8/49916
Changes afoot for the top brass
1 Nov 2011
(File
photo)
(File photo)
[IMG]
In a surprise move, the defence minister proposed on
Tuesday evening the complete replacement of the
countrya**s top brass.
At an extraordinary meeting of the Government Council of
Foreign Affairs and Defence (Kysea), which comprises the
prime minister and other key cabinet members, Defence
Minister Panos Beglitis proposed the following changes to
the army, navy and air force and the general staff:
* General Ioannis Giagkos, chief of the Greek National
Defence General Staff, to be replaced by Lieutenant
General Michalis Kostarakos
* Lieutenant General Fragkos Fragkoulis, chief of the
Greek Army General Staff, to be replaced by
lieutenant general Konstantinos Zazias
* Lieutenant General Vasilios Klokozas, chief of the
Greek Air Force, to be replaced by air marshal
Antonis Tsantirakis
* Vice-Admiral Dimitrios Elefsiniotis, chief of the
Greek Navy General Staff, to be replaced by
Rear-Admiral Kosmas Christidis
It is understood that the personnel changes took many
members of the government and of the armed forces by
surprise. (Athens News)
--
Kristen A. Cooper
Eurasia Analyst
STRATFOR
T: (512) 744-4093 M: (512) 619-9414
--
Benjamin Preisler
Watch Officer
STRATFOR
+216 22 73 23 19
www.STRATFOR.com
--
Benjamin Preisler
Watch Officer
STRATFOR
+216 22 73 23 19
www.STRATFOR.com