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11TH-HOUR ATTACK ON BOXER BY WSJ SMELLS OF THE OIL LOBBY
by Ara Khachatourian
Asbarez
Monday, September 20th, 2010
The Wall Street Journal's September 20 attack piece on Senator
Barbara Boxer and the Armenian National Committee of America, which it
characterized as a group with "tribal Caucasian obsessions," is the
last ditch effort by oil industry executives and the pro-Azerbaijan
lobby to save the deeply flawed nomination of U.S. Ambassador to
Azerbaijan designate Matt Bryza, just 24-hours prior to Senate Foreign
Relations Committee consideration of his candidacy.
And Bryza clearly needs all the help he can get. Rumors of his
impending nomination came up as early as May, 2009, but, curiously,
it took the Obama Administration a full year to submit Bryza's name
for Senate approval. By July 22, when the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee grilled Bryza on his failed record in the Caucasus,
his uncomfortably close ties with Azerbaijan's dictatorial regime,
and conflict of interest concerns regarding the work of his wife,
Zeyno Baran, it became obvious why it took so long.
There is no question that foreign service officers having close working
relationships with the leaders of the foreign countries can be an
asset in promoting US interests abroad. However the effective diplomat
must know where to draw the line. Bryza's ties to Azerbaijan foreign
minister Elmar Mamedyarov - who served as one of three witnesses
at Bryza's 2007 wedding - and the dearth of Azerbaijani Government
officials who attended the wedding and, allegedly may have even paid
for a portion of it - fundamentally weakens his ability to send a
strong pro-democracy, anti-war message to Azerbaijan's leadership.
Baran's participation on the editorial staff of an Azerbaijani
government sponsored journal titled "Azerbaijan Focus" - where she
serves along side Mamedyarov and Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu, raises further questions as to where her allegiances lie.
Bryza's public inaction in the face of the destruction of a 1300
year old Armenian cemetery in Djulfa, which featured thousands of
ornate "cross-stones" as grave markers, showed callous indifference
to the cultural and religious desecration committed by Azerbaijani
soldiers, condemned by the European Parliament and other international
institutions.
The Wall Street Journal, which since being purchased by Rupert Murdoch
has become the mouthpiece of right-wing conservatives, chooses to
ignore these facts as listed in a nine-page public memo prepared by
the ANCA. They also choose to ignore Bryza's flimsy responses to a
series of oral and written questions submitted by Senators Boxer,
Menendez, Feingold, Shaheen and Committee Chairman John Kerry.
Instead they resort to a brazen show of partisan politics - hoping to
tie Senator Boxer's concerns about a flawed nominee whose name should
never have been placed on the docket in the first place - to election
year politicking. The Wall Street Journal's unnamed editorial team
ignores the Senator's 20-year record of promoting a balanced U.S.
policy in the Caucasus that aims to end illegal blockades by Turkey
and Azerbaijan. They conveniently forget Boxer's efforts to make human
rights and democracy a priority in a country where brutal dictators,
like Ilham Aliyev, continue to threaten war to maintain Stalin-imposed
borders.
They close their eyes to the deaths of some eight Armenian and
Azerbaijani soldiers on the Nagorno-Karabakh border in the last three
months alone - a result of a failed OSCE negotiating tactic, left over
from Bryza's time as Minsk Group co-Chair, which emboldens Azerbaijani
military action through muted condemnation of these actions.
It is time for a new representative for Caucasus diplomacy-one without
Bryza's bias and baggage. Senator Boxer understands that reality and
should be commended for her diligence on this matter.
Furthermore, President Obama should realize that his choice for an
ambassador to Baku has more support from the far-right conservative
community than members of his own party, who are trying to hold on
to their majority in Congress.
From: A. Papazian
by Ara Khachatourian
Asbarez
Monday, September 20th, 2010
The Wall Street Journal's September 20 attack piece on Senator
Barbara Boxer and the Armenian National Committee of America, which it
characterized as a group with "tribal Caucasian obsessions," is the
last ditch effort by oil industry executives and the pro-Azerbaijan
lobby to save the deeply flawed nomination of U.S. Ambassador to
Azerbaijan designate Matt Bryza, just 24-hours prior to Senate Foreign
Relations Committee consideration of his candidacy.
And Bryza clearly needs all the help he can get. Rumors of his
impending nomination came up as early as May, 2009, but, curiously,
it took the Obama Administration a full year to submit Bryza's name
for Senate approval. By July 22, when the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee grilled Bryza on his failed record in the Caucasus,
his uncomfortably close ties with Azerbaijan's dictatorial regime,
and conflict of interest concerns regarding the work of his wife,
Zeyno Baran, it became obvious why it took so long.
There is no question that foreign service officers having close working
relationships with the leaders of the foreign countries can be an
asset in promoting US interests abroad. However the effective diplomat
must know where to draw the line. Bryza's ties to Azerbaijan foreign
minister Elmar Mamedyarov - who served as one of three witnesses
at Bryza's 2007 wedding - and the dearth of Azerbaijani Government
officials who attended the wedding and, allegedly may have even paid
for a portion of it - fundamentally weakens his ability to send a
strong pro-democracy, anti-war message to Azerbaijan's leadership.
Baran's participation on the editorial staff of an Azerbaijani
government sponsored journal titled "Azerbaijan Focus" - where she
serves along side Mamedyarov and Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu, raises further questions as to where her allegiances lie.
Bryza's public inaction in the face of the destruction of a 1300
year old Armenian cemetery in Djulfa, which featured thousands of
ornate "cross-stones" as grave markers, showed callous indifference
to the cultural and religious desecration committed by Azerbaijani
soldiers, condemned by the European Parliament and other international
institutions.
The Wall Street Journal, which since being purchased by Rupert Murdoch
has become the mouthpiece of right-wing conservatives, chooses to
ignore these facts as listed in a nine-page public memo prepared by
the ANCA. They also choose to ignore Bryza's flimsy responses to a
series of oral and written questions submitted by Senators Boxer,
Menendez, Feingold, Shaheen and Committee Chairman John Kerry.
Instead they resort to a brazen show of partisan politics - hoping to
tie Senator Boxer's concerns about a flawed nominee whose name should
never have been placed on the docket in the first place - to election
year politicking. The Wall Street Journal's unnamed editorial team
ignores the Senator's 20-year record of promoting a balanced U.S.
policy in the Caucasus that aims to end illegal blockades by Turkey
and Azerbaijan. They conveniently forget Boxer's efforts to make human
rights and democracy a priority in a country where brutal dictators,
like Ilham Aliyev, continue to threaten war to maintain Stalin-imposed
borders.
They close their eyes to the deaths of some eight Armenian and
Azerbaijani soldiers on the Nagorno-Karabakh border in the last three
months alone - a result of a failed OSCE negotiating tactic, left over
from Bryza's time as Minsk Group co-Chair, which emboldens Azerbaijani
military action through muted condemnation of these actions.
It is time for a new representative for Caucasus diplomacy-one without
Bryza's bias and baggage. Senator Boxer understands that reality and
should be commended for her diligence on this matter.
Furthermore, President Obama should realize that his choice for an
ambassador to Baku has more support from the far-right conservative
community than members of his own party, who are trying to hold on
to their majority in Congress.
From: A. Papazian