Israel selling weapons to Azerbaijan fuels possibility of new war

PanARMENIAN.Net - A dangerous pattern is emerging in the Caucasus with new reports that Israel is continuing to sell advanced military armaments to Azerbaijan, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, said Jirair Haratunian, former Chairman of the Armenian Assembly of America Board of Directors, in a column entitled "Dangerous Endorsement: More Israeli Military Arms sold to Azeris as Jewish lobby backs Azerbaijan," the Assembly told PanARMENIAN.Net



The commentary continues, "These military sales are an incendiary fuse in a volatile South Caucasus where a startled world just witnessed a short bloody war between Russia and Georgia and where Moscow's recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia has altered the geopolitical landscape in the region, perhaps permanently.



Ironically, Israelis who condemn Iran and Syria for arming Hamas and Hezbullah have now become serious arms merchants selling an array of offensive weapons to Azerbaijan. They sell these arms at a time when Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, has repeatedly threatened to recapture Nagorno Karabakh by military force. Moreover, there are more than military sales binding Israel to Azerbaijan these days. On October 2, an Azeri journal, DAY AZ, published an interview with Joseph Shagal, a deputy in the Israeli Knesset and chairman of the Israel-Azerbaijan Inter-Parliamentary Group, who said, "Both economic associations and military alliances are possible with such a partner as Azerbaijan." Shagal asserted that arms sales by Israel are strictly controlled by the government. He then added, "Israel will never supply arms to a country if this can affect the security of neighboring states." This man has apparently been deaf to Aliyev's many bellicose threats to reignite war with Nagorno Karabakh.



As these developments have become public, one obvious question arises: Has the Bush Administration been complicit in these Israeli arms sales or just acquiescent? In either case, the result is the same. Admittedly the U.S. has issued tepid cautions against the use of force in the Caucasus, but these have not worked. Proof is the failed Georgian military episode in South Ossetia that upset regional stability and created fears of a new Cold War. What is required now is a resolute and unambiguous declaration that the United States opposes any new arms race in the Caucasus region and will oppose the use of force in unresolved conflicts. However, neither Vice President Richard Cheney nor Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte made such a statement during their back-to-back visits to Baku in September.



Unfortunately, Israel's growing economic ties and military support of Azerbaijan have now been followed by promises from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) to lobby for Azerbaijan. This commitment was announced in Baku by David Harris, AJC's Chairman, who visited there at the invitation of Azeri President Ilhan Aliyev. With unashamed praise for upholding religious freedom, Harris said: "Religious tolerance in Azerbaijan is a model for the entire world." Harris is either unaware or callous about Azerbaijan's murderous pogroms of Armenians in Sumgait and Baku during the days when the Soviet Union was in the process of imploding. And he is apparently ignorant about the more recent cultural felony committed in Julfa by Azerbaijan's military in which they destroyed hundreds of Khachkars, intricately-carved tombstones, in an Armenian cemetery that dates back to medieval times.



Harris went further. He said, "The AJC has long appreciated the importance of Azerbaijan as a true friend of the United States and Israel." He told reporters that he had discussed the Nagorno Karabakh issue at length and, in particular, the negotiating role of the OSCE's Minsk Group. He promised to urge the United States to pay more attention "to improve the OSCE Minsk Group's mission." In light of Harris's unabashed bias towards Baku, this promise will have to be carefully monitored. Finally, Harris paid tribute to his hosts with these words, "We have valued this opportunity to learn more about this strong ally in a challenging and critical region. We look forward to sharing our views about Azerbaijan's key role when we return to the United States."



Thus, we witness a disturbing combination of arms sales to Azerbaijan, possible military ties with Israel, and vocal support for Baku by AJC, one of the largest and most influential Jewish advocacy groups in America. These developments are scarcely known or understood by the rank and file of the Jewish community. They are unaware of the way in which the intrusion of Israel and the AJC into the volatile region of the Caucasus heightens the possibility of war. They don't realize that only a fragile ceasefire line separates Azeri and Armenian military forces and that arming and encouraging a saber rattling leader in Azerbaijan only fuels the possibility of a new war."