Matthew Bryza: Azerbaijan Ambassadorship & a Tangled Web of Conflicts

[mmonk]

President Obama appears to have run out of Non-Neocon candidates to appoint for crucial positions. After one year with no ambassador to fill the position in Azerbaijan, the President reached out to and appointed a young neocon with a tangled web of conflicts. I am talking about a neocon and his wife, a duo who for the last decade and a half have been attached to figures such as Michael Rubin, Barry Rubin, Daniel Pipes, Richard Perle, Robert Novak…We have here a fairly young to-be-ambassador neocon, whose lavish wedding in Turkey could not have been possible without the generosity of those involved in the Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline projects, and corrupt figureheads in Azerbaijan politics…This is about a shady neocon figure with a shadier role in the almost-forgotten Georgia-Russia incident a couple of years ago…We are talking about neocon Matt Bryza and his more-of-a-neocon think-tank damsel Zeyno Baran; President Obama’s choice for the ambassadorship in Azerbaijan.

Last Thursday Mr. Bryza was on the defensive when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. While the general MSM coverage placed its main focus on Bryza’s questionable actions, actually lack of actions, on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflicts and incidents involving the desecration of ancient Armenian gravesites in the town of Julfa in the Azerbaijani exclave of Naxcivan, very little coverage was given to his even greater baggage and background. Here is one of those cursory coverages I’m talking about:

Bryza also pledged to not let his personal life affect his work. His wife, Zeyno Baran, is of Turkish origin, which some Armenian critics say leads to an anti-Armenian bias. Baran, who was present at the hearing, has also been cited as a source of potential conflict of interest for Bryza in terms of energy politics. She works for the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think-tank which receives funding from ExxonMobile and other energy companies. Azerbaijan is a key “southern corridor” country for planned increases in gas shipment from the Caspian region to Europe.

-snip-

From http://eurodialogue.org/Caucasus-The-War-That-Was-The-World-War-That-Might-Have-Been">European Dialogue

In 1998 Bryza was Morningstar's chief lieutenant in managing U.S. Caspian Sea energy interests as Deputy to the Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State on Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy, where he remained until March of 2001, and he worked on developing what are now U.S. and Western plans to circumvent Russia and Iran and achieve dominance over the delivery of energy supplies to Europe.

-snip-

Morningstar’s status as one of the power player neocons has been long closeted.. During the 90s he was working with and serving one of the main agendas of Neocon players such as Elliott Abrams, Dick Cheney, Frank Gaffney, Paul Wolfowitz …People tend to pay attention only to the top 25 signatories and contributors of Project for the New American Century-PNAC. Yes, that infamous list also includes the Neocons shining star for Central Asia & the Caucasus, Mr. Richard L. Morningstar.

Read about it at Sibel Edmonds' Boiling Frogs Post

[PufPuf23]

1. US Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce web page

Obama could have done better IMO in the selection, not a big surprise (anymore).


Here is the organization's leadership:

http://usacc.org/content.php?type=page&id=2&chi=5&par=3


Here is USACC's purpose:


"Since its inception in 1995, the United States - Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) has been a vital resource for American companies seeking to establish long-term business ties with Azerbaijan. Its deep membership pool consists of a diverse group of businesses from all sectors of the economy, including Fortune 500 companies.

Called by the Washington Post “the most forceful advocate in Washington for U.S. investment” in Azerbaijan, the USACC is the premier conduit for improved business and commercial ties between the two countries.

The USACC was a key driving force behind two of the world’s most strategic and ambitious regional energy projects, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline, both of which are operational today."

[mmonk]

2. Yes, I think so to.

I think it is time to quit the geopolitical strategy that has gotten us to our current state of problems. Relationships can be made without continuing this idea we have to control all the resources of Central Asia and the Middle East at the absense of other players.

[PufPuf23]

3. Unfortunately, the geopolitical strategy has been advanced

even though most Democrats thought they were voting for change.

The geopolitical strategy is global and still being advanced in Latin America, Africa, etc.

The end game will be either expanded war or, hopefully, a turning back of a USA for Americans rather than a World for the wealthy and powerful.

Never did I expect to see the direction of this nation turn to such crap.

[mmonk]

4. Me either.

I took for granted that there could exist a political outlet from such thinking. But the changed media culture helps make it take on a whole or total nature.