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PRES. OBAMA CAN NOW REPLACE BRYZA WITH A NEW NOMINEE AS ENVOY TO BAKU
Harut Sassounian
Noyan Tapan
30.09.2010 | 13:33
A funny thing happened to Matthew Bryza on the way to Baku! He had
rented out his Washington home and packed up his suitcase, after being
assured by top White House and State Department officials that he was
going to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan. He could already
smell the oil and gas in the air!
In his excitement, Bryza seemed to have forgotten that his
irresponsible statements and actions, during his stunt as U.S.
negotiator on the Karabagh (Artsakh) conflict, had antagonized some
of his Washington colleagues and others in the Caucasus.
More than a year ago, when the U.S. Ambassador's post in Baku became
vacant, Bryza brashly told everyone in Washington that he wanted to
be, nay, he was going to be, the next Ambassador to Azerbaijan! He
immediately hit a snag, when Pres. Aliyev informed the White House
that he was neither pleased with Obama administration's policies in
the Caucuses nor with its self-proclaimed Wunderkind (boy wonder)!
Azerbaijan was unhappy because: 1) the United States and Bryza were
pushing Turkey to open its border with Armenia, in the absence of
any progress on the Artsakh conflict; 2) Congress had allocated
another million to Artsakh, despite strong objections from Baku;
and 3) Armenia's President was, while Pres. Aliyev was not, invited
to the 47-nation Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
Bryza also had opponents within the Obama administration. After
months of internal bickering among Washington officials over Bryza's
nomination, Pres. Obama finally submitted his name in May to the
Senate as the next envoy to Azerbaijan. Shortly thereafter, Pres.
Obama dispatched two high-ranking cabinet officials, Defense Secretary
Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Baku in order
to appease Pres. Aliyev and give him the necessary assurances on Bryza.
During Bryza's Foreign Relations Committee hearing in July, several
Senators asked him pointed questions regarding his statements and
activities while serving as Artsakh negotiator. They also raised
serious concerns about possible conflicts of interest involving his
wife and gifts the couple may have received for their wedding from
Azeri government officials. Senators Barbara Boxer, Robert Menendez,
Russ Feingold, Committee chair John Kerry, and Majority Leader Harry
Reid were not satisfied with Bryza's incomplete and evasive answers,
despite repeated follow-up written questions. This did not bode well
for his ambassadorial ambitions, as all five Senators are Democrats
who would normally back a Democratic President's nominee.
In early August, frustrated by Bryza's unresponsiveness, Sen. Boxer
asked the Foreign Relations Committee to postpone the vote on his
nomination. After a delay of six weeks, when the majority of Committee
members voted on Sept. 21 to confirm Bryza, Senators Boxer and Menendez
had no choice but to place a "hold," in order to block the ratification
of his nomination by the full Senate. Indicating serious concerns with
the qualifications of this controversial nominee, the two Senators
resorted to the rare practice of placing a double "hold," freezing any
further Senate consideration on his nomination until next January at
the latest, when the new Senate starts its session. Pres. Obama has
to decide then whether to resubmit his name or propose a new nominee.
Until January, the President has the unlikely option of making a
"recess appointment." He could appoint Bryza as Ambassador to
Azerbaijan without Senate confirmation, while the Senate is in recess.
The disadvantages of such a rare move are twofold: 1) Bryza would be
handicapped in carrying out his diplomatic duties, as he would not
enjoy the confidence of the U.S. Senate; and 2) the President would
antagonize the Senators by depriving them of their constitutional
mandate of "advise and consent."
The ideal option for Pres. Obama would be to abandon Bryza's flawed
candidacy and name another less controversial nominee who could be
confirmed by the Senate. Such a move would dispatch quickly the next
U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, after a 15-month absence. In contrast,
renominating Bryza in January would delay the posting of such an
Ambassador for several more months!
Seeing its Wunderkind in serious trouble, the Wall Street Journal
(WSJ), bastion of the neo-cons and oil and gas lobbies, published
a vicious editorial against Sen. Boxer and the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA) the day before the Committee vote,
attempting to intimidate Bryza's opponents. After the "hold," a nastier
editorial was published by the Washington Post against Senators Boxer
and Menendez, and ANCA.
These vicious attacks had the exact opposite effect -- they
inadvertently helped promote the political clout of ANCA and the
Armenian-American community in Washington!
From: A. Papazian
Harut Sassounian
Noyan Tapan
30.09.2010 | 13:33
A funny thing happened to Matthew Bryza on the way to Baku! He had
rented out his Washington home and packed up his suitcase, after being
assured by top White House and State Department officials that he was
going to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan. He could already
smell the oil and gas in the air!
In his excitement, Bryza seemed to have forgotten that his
irresponsible statements and actions, during his stunt as U.S.
negotiator on the Karabagh (Artsakh) conflict, had antagonized some
of his Washington colleagues and others in the Caucasus.
More than a year ago, when the U.S. Ambassador's post in Baku became
vacant, Bryza brashly told everyone in Washington that he wanted to
be, nay, he was going to be, the next Ambassador to Azerbaijan! He
immediately hit a snag, when Pres. Aliyev informed the White House
that he was neither pleased with Obama administration's policies in
the Caucuses nor with its self-proclaimed Wunderkind (boy wonder)!
Azerbaijan was unhappy because: 1) the United States and Bryza were
pushing Turkey to open its border with Armenia, in the absence of
any progress on the Artsakh conflict; 2) Congress had allocated
another million to Artsakh, despite strong objections from Baku;
and 3) Armenia's President was, while Pres. Aliyev was not, invited
to the 47-nation Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
Bryza also had opponents within the Obama administration. After
months of internal bickering among Washington officials over Bryza's
nomination, Pres. Obama finally submitted his name in May to the
Senate as the next envoy to Azerbaijan. Shortly thereafter, Pres.
Obama dispatched two high-ranking cabinet officials, Defense Secretary
Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Baku in order
to appease Pres. Aliyev and give him the necessary assurances on Bryza.
During Bryza's Foreign Relations Committee hearing in July, several
Senators asked him pointed questions regarding his statements and
activities while serving as Artsakh negotiator. They also raised
serious concerns about possible conflicts of interest involving his
wife and gifts the couple may have received for their wedding from
Azeri government officials. Senators Barbara Boxer, Robert Menendez,
Russ Feingold, Committee chair John Kerry, and Majority Leader Harry
Reid were not satisfied with Bryza's incomplete and evasive answers,
despite repeated follow-up written questions. This did not bode well
for his ambassadorial ambitions, as all five Senators are Democrats
who would normally back a Democratic President's nominee.
In early August, frustrated by Bryza's unresponsiveness, Sen. Boxer
asked the Foreign Relations Committee to postpone the vote on his
nomination. After a delay of six weeks, when the majority of Committee
members voted on Sept. 21 to confirm Bryza, Senators Boxer and Menendez
had no choice but to place a "hold," in order to block the ratification
of his nomination by the full Senate. Indicating serious concerns with
the qualifications of this controversial nominee, the two Senators
resorted to the rare practice of placing a double "hold," freezing any
further Senate consideration on his nomination until next January at
the latest, when the new Senate starts its session. Pres. Obama has
to decide then whether to resubmit his name or propose a new nominee.
Until January, the President has the unlikely option of making a
"recess appointment." He could appoint Bryza as Ambassador to
Azerbaijan without Senate confirmation, while the Senate is in recess.
The disadvantages of such a rare move are twofold: 1) Bryza would be
handicapped in carrying out his diplomatic duties, as he would not
enjoy the confidence of the U.S. Senate; and 2) the President would
antagonize the Senators by depriving them of their constitutional
mandate of "advise and consent."
The ideal option for Pres. Obama would be to abandon Bryza's flawed
candidacy and name another less controversial nominee who could be
confirmed by the Senate. Such a move would dispatch quickly the next
U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, after a 15-month absence. In contrast,
renominating Bryza in January would delay the posting of such an
Ambassador for several more months!
Seeing its Wunderkind in serious trouble, the Wall Street Journal
(WSJ), bastion of the neo-cons and oil and gas lobbies, published
a vicious editorial against Sen. Boxer and the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA) the day before the Committee vote,
attempting to intimidate Bryza's opponents. After the "hold," a nastier
editorial was published by the Washington Post against Senators Boxer
and Menendez, and ANCA.
These vicious attacks had the exact opposite effect -- they
inadvertently helped promote the political clout of ANCA and the
Armenian-American community in Washington!
From: A. Papazian