As you will well remember, after the simultaneous publication of information contained in classified U.S. military documents by major international newspapers last summer, the Pentagon issued a statement, warning the WikiLeaks operators that the leaking of such secret documents could “damage the trust of allies.”
It seems that this assumption has eventually materialized. During the last days of 2010, “Azerbaijan,” the official newspaper of the Milli Meclis, or Azerbaijani Parliament, published an analysis, titled “USA: Perverting freedom,” that is very harshly critical of Washington’s foreign policy approach and understanding, especially with regard to the situation in the southern Caucasus. The fact that the article commences with the following judgment actually speaks for itself: “The events of the past decade clearly show that the United States systematically ‘produces’ information for political blackmail.”
The reasons for Azerbaijani alienation from the U.S. are numerous, but the most important among them is undoubtedly U.S. indifference to Armenia’s occupation of Azeri territory, which according to international law is a very explicit example of aggression. Washington, in turn, once again appears to be in denial about the depth of rising discontent among the Azeri public. For the last four months, I have been traveling in Azerbaijan and have not seen one single Azeri who did not complain about the West’s double standards regarding the situation on the ground. They want their territories back. The internally displaced persons in particular want to go back to their homes. Even in such a milieu, nevertheless, Washington chooses to reply with rhetoric rather than actions.
There are 38 major ethnic lobbying groups in the U.S. and their impact on U.S. foreign policy is even a matter of debate among the U.S. public. However, the Armenian diaspora among them deserves special attention because none of these groups manages to exercise the same influence it does. They are not only better organized but also better represented than others.
Let me give a concrete example in that regard: There were two outspoken U.S. senators who had objected to Matthew Bryza’s nomination as ambassador to Baku in the past: Barbara Boxer and Robert Menendez. Boxer claimed in those days that Bryza was unwilling to speak out forcefully in the face of increasing “Azerbaijani aggression” against Armenia. This is the same line of thinking that led to the adoption of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act of 1992, which put sanctions on Azerbaijan as a party allegedly responsible for “aggression” against Armenia.
Menendez, on the other hand, questioned Bryza’s “very close ties to Turkey,” since his wife, Zeyno Baran, is Turkish-born. While Boxer’s description of “Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia” is in fact nothing but ludicrous, Menendez’s line of thinking is not only shameful but also racist. How on Earth can the ethnic origin of a U.S. diplomat’s wife be used against him?
Such behavior increases the prospects for war in the Caucasus as the rhetoric between Armenia and Azerbaijan is heating up nowadays. But little is heard from Washington. It unfortunately confirms Baku’s belief that there is only one way to restore justice, i.e. resorting to force. It strengthens, in turn, Yerevan’s non-conciliatory approach to both the issue of occupation and the much-speculated on normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.
My dear American friends, perhaps your attention has diverted elsewhere, but this is a problem that has been allowed to fester for too long. I sincerely hope steps can be taken to address the imbalance in your dealings with these two countries before it is too late.
Or, as ironically asked in the said Azeri article, is U.S. foreign policy indeed shaped in Kirk Kerkorian’s office or in Kim Kardashian’s bedroom? And please do not complain about this analogy! In certain cases, your diplomats’ analyses with regard to domestic politics of your allies detailed in the documents leaked are worse and more insulting.
Cem Oğuz
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