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June 13 2012
The Decline and Fall of Matthew Bryza
by Joshua Foust on 6/13/2012 · 1 comment
While he was the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder advocated
constantly for the construction of Nord Stream, an undersea natural
gas pipeline that will travel from Russia, along the floor of the
Baltic Sea, and end in Germany. It seemed like a great deal for
Germany, to get a direct line to Russia's vast energy wealth, even if
Russia was fond of using gas price hikes to force unwanted policies
out of consumer countries.
Of course, less than a month after retiring as Chancellor, Schroeder
was hired onto the Board of Directors of the Gazprom subsidiary in
charge of building the pipeline. He negotiated the deal, then retired
and took a corporate position with the firm building it. It stank to
high heaven, ethically: when American government officials played with
conflicts of interest that large, they get sent to prison. And while
Schroeder's move has been roundly criticized as obviously unethical,
he hasn't suffered any consequences for it.
Now, enter Matt Bryza. He's long been a figure in Caspian circles,
going back at least a decade to President Bush's National Security
Council then as Condoleeza Rice's pointman on the Caucasus. However,
like many in the Bush administration, Bryza was close to Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili - and rumors are rampant that he helped
nudge the tiny country into war with Russia by hinting the U.S. would
support them. In fact, Moscow has been so open about those rumors that
they have made it very plain that Bryza would get a cool reception by
Russian diplomats. (Bryza has always denied the assertion.)
Still, he was a decent enough choice to be the ambassador to
Azerbaijan - even if his appointment was opposed by Armenians angry
over his stance on Nagorno-Karabakh and his wife's Turkish heritage.
President Obama was never able to get him confirmed by the Senate, so
he eventually appointed Bryza as an interim. His appointment ran out
in January.
Yet now, according to Joshua Hersh, Bryza has found new work:
Matthew Bryza, who until last December was President Barack Obama's
appointed ambassador to Azerbaijan, took the job on the board of
Turcas Petrol company, which is partly controlled by the State Oil
Company of Azerbaijan Republic, according to reports in regional
newspapers.
So Bryza served as ambassador, then retired to run an oil company
partly controlled by the country he served in. Much like Schroeder's
move to Gazprom after retiring, it reeks of a conflict of interest.
Hersh mostly quotes Azeri opposition activists who are angry at the
move, but it goes deeper than that: Bryza is not the only ambassador
to leave his post for lucrative business dealings in the country where
he's served.
Even so, Bryza's move doesn't look good. It doesn't break any laws,
but it sure as hell seems fishy.
http://registan.net/index.php/2012/06/13/the-decline-and-fall-of-matthew-bryza/
June 13 2012
The Decline and Fall of Matthew Bryza
by Joshua Foust on 6/13/2012 · 1 comment
While he was the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder advocated
constantly for the construction of Nord Stream, an undersea natural
gas pipeline that will travel from Russia, along the floor of the
Baltic Sea, and end in Germany. It seemed like a great deal for
Germany, to get a direct line to Russia's vast energy wealth, even if
Russia was fond of using gas price hikes to force unwanted policies
out of consumer countries.
Of course, less than a month after retiring as Chancellor, Schroeder
was hired onto the Board of Directors of the Gazprom subsidiary in
charge of building the pipeline. He negotiated the deal, then retired
and took a corporate position with the firm building it. It stank to
high heaven, ethically: when American government officials played with
conflicts of interest that large, they get sent to prison. And while
Schroeder's move has been roundly criticized as obviously unethical,
he hasn't suffered any consequences for it.
Now, enter Matt Bryza. He's long been a figure in Caspian circles,
going back at least a decade to President Bush's National Security
Council then as Condoleeza Rice's pointman on the Caucasus. However,
like many in the Bush administration, Bryza was close to Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili - and rumors are rampant that he helped
nudge the tiny country into war with Russia by hinting the U.S. would
support them. In fact, Moscow has been so open about those rumors that
they have made it very plain that Bryza would get a cool reception by
Russian diplomats. (Bryza has always denied the assertion.)
Still, he was a decent enough choice to be the ambassador to
Azerbaijan - even if his appointment was opposed by Armenians angry
over his stance on Nagorno-Karabakh and his wife's Turkish heritage.
President Obama was never able to get him confirmed by the Senate, so
he eventually appointed Bryza as an interim. His appointment ran out
in January.
Yet now, according to Joshua Hersh, Bryza has found new work:
Matthew Bryza, who until last December was President Barack Obama's
appointed ambassador to Azerbaijan, took the job on the board of
Turcas Petrol company, which is partly controlled by the State Oil
Company of Azerbaijan Republic, according to reports in regional
newspapers.
So Bryza served as ambassador, then retired to run an oil company
partly controlled by the country he served in. Much like Schroeder's
move to Gazprom after retiring, it reeks of a conflict of interest.
Hersh mostly quotes Azeri opposition activists who are angry at the
move, but it goes deeper than that: Bryza is not the only ambassador
to leave his post for lucrative business dealings in the country where
he's served.
Even so, Bryza's move doesn't look good. It doesn't break any laws,
but it sure as hell seems fishy.
http://registan.net/index.php/2012/06/13/the-decline-and-fall-of-matthew-bryza/