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Former Sen. Conrad Burns calls on Senate not to delay confirmation of
Bryza as U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan
August 28, 2010 - 11:33 AMT 06:33 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Former Sen. Conrad Burns touts President Obama's nomination of Matthew
Byrza as U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan.
Part of the reasoning for the former Montana Republican senator's
endorsement of Bryza and his encouragement that the Senate not delay
the confirmation was his reluctant endorsement of President Obama's
"apology tour" last year in which the chief executive sought to
cultivate Muslim support in return for American admissions of previous
mistakes in our dealings with the Islamic nations of the Middle East
and elsewhere, Washington Examiner's Editorial Page Editor Mark
Tapscott said in the article titled `Burns oped draws fire from
Armenian opposition for concealing his own special interest'
"Let's set aside our differences, look at our commonalities and step
forward with strong leaders to work toward a common good. Today, I
urge the United States Senate to follow his advice," Burns wrote
earlier.
But that drew a heated response from the Armenian National Committee
of America, which opposes the Byrza nomination: "What Sen. Burns fails
to mention is his own lobbying firm's special interest in this case.
Public records show that his employer, Gage Business Consulting and
Government Solutions, was founded by Leo A. Giacometto, Sen. Burns'
former chief of staff and current boss.
Mr. Giacometto is a Senior Advisor to Silk Way Holding (SW Holding),
an Azerbaijan mega-conglomerate which operates 16 companies including
Silk Way Bank, Silk Way Airlines and Turan Air, among others.
The company was recently written up by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Azerbaijan because of its questionable financial ties to Azerbaijan
President Ilham Aliyev.
By law, President Aliyev is not allowed to own private holdings
(although he, by all accounts, already a billionaire many times over),
however, family members - like his 21-year old daughter do not fall
under the same legal prohibition.
As it turns out, his daughter is co-owner of the multi-million dollar
SW Holdings, although she's never been able to offer a reasonable
explanation of how she came into the millions needed to make this
purchase.
So, in reality, powerful special and foreign financial interests are
at play here, but not in the way former Senator Burns describes.
President Ilham Aliyev has an obvious interest in the U.S. sending an
Aliyev family-friendly ambassador to Baku, in the person of Mr. Bryza.
The Aliyev family's business partner, Mr. Giacometto, in turn, has an
interest in keeping President Aliyev happy by helping to generate
favorable media coverage of the Bryza nomination.
He accomplished this, it seems, easily enough via his business
connections to the young Miss Aliyev and his professional employment
of Senator Burns.
Sen. Burns' defense of the Bryza nomination only reinforces concerns
that Mr. Bryza's ties to Azerbaijan's corrupt ruling elite are simply
too close for him to effectively advance U.S. interests in the
country.
In fact. Mr. Bryza is so close to the Aliyev regime, that Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov served as one of three witnesses in
Mr. Bryza's wedding, joining his two closest school friends.
Perhaps this sheds some light on Mr. Bryza's reticence to clearly
condemn recent Azerbaijani attacks against the people of Nagorno
Karabakh and his prolonged silence in the face of Azerbaijani
government destruction of a medieval Armenian cemetery in Djulfa, an
act of hatred and religious desecration that Senator Burns, as a
self-described practicing Lutheran, must surely abhor.
Yes, the United States needs an ambassador in Azerbaijan, but Mr.
Bryza is simply the wrong choice. Senator Boxer did the right thing to
delay his confirmation, giving the Obama Administration time to step
back from this mistake and nominate a new candidate."
When The Examiner requested a response from Burns, here is the
statement he provided:
"This type of statement from the ANCA is why I wrote the op-ed. The
ANCA has a very clear agenda to oppose all things related to
Azerbaijan; I will allow their record to speak for itself.
I am an advisor to GAGE and to several other companies, including one
with business interests in Armenia. I am not an employee of GAGE's and
I do not represent Silk Way Holding.
My interest in this issue is specific to the United State's interests
as we work to strengthen our strategic alliances in the Middle East
and the Caspian Region.
This is nothing more than an attack on the messenger and clearly
underscores the point of my op-ed, that looking forward rather than
backward is the best course of action for the United States. Mr. Bryza
remains the best candidate for this position and his leadership will
take us forward.
It is not my place to respond to all of the other political
accusations. However, in the interest of US Foreign Policy, having an
Armenian Interest Group try to dictate who can be our Ambassador to
Azerbaijan is akin to allowing the Chinese to tell us who our
Ambassador to Taiwan should be.
While Armenia strengthens its ties to Russia and expands Russian
military bases within its borders, the United States must work with
Azerbaijan in our own national interest."
From: A. Papazian
Bryza as U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan
August 28, 2010 - 11:33 AMT 06:33 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Former Sen. Conrad Burns touts President Obama's nomination of Matthew
Byrza as U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan.
Part of the reasoning for the former Montana Republican senator's
endorsement of Bryza and his encouragement that the Senate not delay
the confirmation was his reluctant endorsement of President Obama's
"apology tour" last year in which the chief executive sought to
cultivate Muslim support in return for American admissions of previous
mistakes in our dealings with the Islamic nations of the Middle East
and elsewhere, Washington Examiner's Editorial Page Editor Mark
Tapscott said in the article titled `Burns oped draws fire from
Armenian opposition for concealing his own special interest'
"Let's set aside our differences, look at our commonalities and step
forward with strong leaders to work toward a common good. Today, I
urge the United States Senate to follow his advice," Burns wrote
earlier.
But that drew a heated response from the Armenian National Committee
of America, which opposes the Byrza nomination: "What Sen. Burns fails
to mention is his own lobbying firm's special interest in this case.
Public records show that his employer, Gage Business Consulting and
Government Solutions, was founded by Leo A. Giacometto, Sen. Burns'
former chief of staff and current boss.
Mr. Giacometto is a Senior Advisor to Silk Way Holding (SW Holding),
an Azerbaijan mega-conglomerate which operates 16 companies including
Silk Way Bank, Silk Way Airlines and Turan Air, among others.
The company was recently written up by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Azerbaijan because of its questionable financial ties to Azerbaijan
President Ilham Aliyev.
By law, President Aliyev is not allowed to own private holdings
(although he, by all accounts, already a billionaire many times over),
however, family members - like his 21-year old daughter do not fall
under the same legal prohibition.
As it turns out, his daughter is co-owner of the multi-million dollar
SW Holdings, although she's never been able to offer a reasonable
explanation of how she came into the millions needed to make this
purchase.
So, in reality, powerful special and foreign financial interests are
at play here, but not in the way former Senator Burns describes.
President Ilham Aliyev has an obvious interest in the U.S. sending an
Aliyev family-friendly ambassador to Baku, in the person of Mr. Bryza.
The Aliyev family's business partner, Mr. Giacometto, in turn, has an
interest in keeping President Aliyev happy by helping to generate
favorable media coverage of the Bryza nomination.
He accomplished this, it seems, easily enough via his business
connections to the young Miss Aliyev and his professional employment
of Senator Burns.
Sen. Burns' defense of the Bryza nomination only reinforces concerns
that Mr. Bryza's ties to Azerbaijan's corrupt ruling elite are simply
too close for him to effectively advance U.S. interests in the
country.
In fact. Mr. Bryza is so close to the Aliyev regime, that Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov served as one of three witnesses in
Mr. Bryza's wedding, joining his two closest school friends.
Perhaps this sheds some light on Mr. Bryza's reticence to clearly
condemn recent Azerbaijani attacks against the people of Nagorno
Karabakh and his prolonged silence in the face of Azerbaijani
government destruction of a medieval Armenian cemetery in Djulfa, an
act of hatred and religious desecration that Senator Burns, as a
self-described practicing Lutheran, must surely abhor.
Yes, the United States needs an ambassador in Azerbaijan, but Mr.
Bryza is simply the wrong choice. Senator Boxer did the right thing to
delay his confirmation, giving the Obama Administration time to step
back from this mistake and nominate a new candidate."
When The Examiner requested a response from Burns, here is the
statement he provided:
"This type of statement from the ANCA is why I wrote the op-ed. The
ANCA has a very clear agenda to oppose all things related to
Azerbaijan; I will allow their record to speak for itself.
I am an advisor to GAGE and to several other companies, including one
with business interests in Armenia. I am not an employee of GAGE's and
I do not represent Silk Way Holding.
My interest in this issue is specific to the United State's interests
as we work to strengthen our strategic alliances in the Middle East
and the Caspian Region.
This is nothing more than an attack on the messenger and clearly
underscores the point of my op-ed, that looking forward rather than
backward is the best course of action for the United States. Mr. Bryza
remains the best candidate for this position and his leadership will
take us forward.
It is not my place to respond to all of the other political
accusations. However, in the interest of US Foreign Policy, having an
Armenian Interest Group try to dictate who can be our Ambassador to
Azerbaijan is akin to allowing the Chinese to tell us who our
Ambassador to Taiwan should be.
While Armenia strengthens its ties to Russia and expands Russian
military bases within its borders, the United States must work with
Azerbaijan in our own national interest."
From: A. Papazian