Since 1974, the Greek American community has lobbied the United States government to reevaluate its actions regarding Cyprus, its NATO ally. The betrayal of Cyprus was based primarily on the actions of then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who defied the rule of law and American values in foreign policy when Turkey, another alleged NATO ally, invaded Cyprus and occupied the northern half of the island nation. The highest level of the U.S. government deliberately violated U.S. foreign assistance laws when Turkey illegally utilized U.S. arms in invading Cyprus. Specifically, Kissinger refused to immediately halt arms aid to Turkey as required by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.