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HILLARY CLINTON HAS A FINGER IN EVERY PIE
The Voice of Russia
May 31 2012
On Thursday, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarked on
a 7-day tour of seven countries. The broad agenda is really impressive.
During her voyage, Ms. Clinton will visit three countries of Northern
Europe, namely Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and four countries on
the south-eastern outskirts of Europe - three Transcaucasian states
(Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan), and will wind up her trip in Turkey
on June 7.
Probably as diverse as the selection of countries is the list of
topics for the discussion. They range from ecology (to be discussed
in Scandinavia) to Iran in Syria (everywhere), secession (in
Transcaucasia) and terrorism - on her final day of the trip, Ms.
Clinton will co-chair a counterterrorism forum in Istanbul.
What is probably more interesting is what topics of discussion have not
been announced. It is more than obvious that after Britain's Supreme
Court ruled in favor of Julian Assange's extradition to Sweden, Hillary
Clinton will raise the issue in her talks with Swedish authorities
and insist that Assange should be further extradited to the U.S. for
demonstrative punishment. It is worth remembering that in Sweden he
faces charges of harassment and attempted rape, which are very poorly
based and unlikely to lead to a serious punishment, the U.S. charges
him with terrorism which may result in life imprisonment or the death
penalty (and who cares for the First Amendment!).
But even the wide array of countries to be visited and topics to be
discussed has something in common. And that is the attempt to establish
and promote the U.S. omnipresence in key areas of global politics.
The tour to Scandinavia signifies the start of the race for the vast
mineral resources of the Arctic region. As due to the global warming
and advances in technology, the deepwater oil and gas reserves become
more and more accessible, all the littoral countries are claiming their
share of this pie. The problem is further complicated by the fact that
the maritime borders and exclusive economic zone boundaries were drawn
arbitrarily in times when no one was really thinking they mattered
much, and now this leads to sharp disputes between the sub-Arctic
countries. The U.S., having just a small portion of the shoreline
there, is obviously not satisfied with its present share and would
love to broaden it at the expense of neighbors.
The tour of all three Transcaucasian countries plays an important
symbolic role. While Hillary Clinton is hardly likely to help solve
the Nagorno-Karabakh stalemate, and definitely will not affect the
independent status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, her proclamations
on both issues will be purely aimed at bringing Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan closer to the mainstream of U.S. policy.
With Georgia and its today's totally servile regime, the task is easy.
But with Armenia and Azerbaijan (both having excellent relations with
Russia), the task is more rewarding. By showing them a carrot, Ms.
Clinton will aim at not simply extending the U.S. presence in the
region, but also at diminishing the Russian influence.
But the long range goal in Ms. Hillary's mind definitely lies outside
the countries she is visiting. And this is an attempt to build a
coalition and gain a foothold in the area adjacent to the region of
the U.S. utmost strategic interest of the latest decades. While Syria
and Iran remain the last islands of resistance to the mounting U.S.
pressure on the "Great Middle East", it is worth trying to circumvent
those countries and getting access to them from an unexpected
direction.
If (the "if" is rather big, though) Ms. Hillary succeeds in, say,
forging a kind of anti-Iranian alliance with Armenia that would
really be a big deal. But that means that the carrot she has to
offer to Armenia must be really huge. And in light of the stalled
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, for which she does not seem to have a
handy solution, this seems highly unlikely.
Boris Volkhonsky, senior research fellow, Russian Institute for
Strategic Studies
The Voice of Russia
May 31 2012
On Thursday, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarked on
a 7-day tour of seven countries. The broad agenda is really impressive.
During her voyage, Ms. Clinton will visit three countries of Northern
Europe, namely Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and four countries on
the south-eastern outskirts of Europe - three Transcaucasian states
(Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan), and will wind up her trip in Turkey
on June 7.
Probably as diverse as the selection of countries is the list of
topics for the discussion. They range from ecology (to be discussed
in Scandinavia) to Iran in Syria (everywhere), secession (in
Transcaucasia) and terrorism - on her final day of the trip, Ms.
Clinton will co-chair a counterterrorism forum in Istanbul.
What is probably more interesting is what topics of discussion have not
been announced. It is more than obvious that after Britain's Supreme
Court ruled in favor of Julian Assange's extradition to Sweden, Hillary
Clinton will raise the issue in her talks with Swedish authorities
and insist that Assange should be further extradited to the U.S. for
demonstrative punishment. It is worth remembering that in Sweden he
faces charges of harassment and attempted rape, which are very poorly
based and unlikely to lead to a serious punishment, the U.S. charges
him with terrorism which may result in life imprisonment or the death
penalty (and who cares for the First Amendment!).
But even the wide array of countries to be visited and topics to be
discussed has something in common. And that is the attempt to establish
and promote the U.S. omnipresence in key areas of global politics.
The tour to Scandinavia signifies the start of the race for the vast
mineral resources of the Arctic region. As due to the global warming
and advances in technology, the deepwater oil and gas reserves become
more and more accessible, all the littoral countries are claiming their
share of this pie. The problem is further complicated by the fact that
the maritime borders and exclusive economic zone boundaries were drawn
arbitrarily in times when no one was really thinking they mattered
much, and now this leads to sharp disputes between the sub-Arctic
countries. The U.S., having just a small portion of the shoreline
there, is obviously not satisfied with its present share and would
love to broaden it at the expense of neighbors.
The tour of all three Transcaucasian countries plays an important
symbolic role. While Hillary Clinton is hardly likely to help solve
the Nagorno-Karabakh stalemate, and definitely will not affect the
independent status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, her proclamations
on both issues will be purely aimed at bringing Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan closer to the mainstream of U.S. policy.
With Georgia and its today's totally servile regime, the task is easy.
But with Armenia and Azerbaijan (both having excellent relations with
Russia), the task is more rewarding. By showing them a carrot, Ms.
Clinton will aim at not simply extending the U.S. presence in the
region, but also at diminishing the Russian influence.
But the long range goal in Ms. Hillary's mind definitely lies outside
the countries she is visiting. And this is an attempt to build a
coalition and gain a foothold in the area adjacent to the region of
the U.S. utmost strategic interest of the latest decades. While Syria
and Iran remain the last islands of resistance to the mounting U.S.
pressure on the "Great Middle East", it is worth trying to circumvent
those countries and getting access to them from an unexpected
direction.
If (the "if" is rather big, though) Ms. Hillary succeeds in, say,
forging a kind of anti-Iranian alliance with Armenia that would
really be a big deal. But that means that the carrot she has to
offer to Armenia must be really huge. And in light of the stalled
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, for which she does not seem to have a
handy solution, this seems highly unlikely.
Boris Volkhonsky, senior research fellow, Russian Institute for
Strategic Studies