A ‘warehouse of evil’
By S. Rob Sobhani

Washington Times
March 28 2005

The recent arrest of 18 people planning to smuggle Soviet-made
grenade launchers, shoulder-fired missiles and other Russian military
weapons into the United States is a disturbing national-security
problem connecting unresolved conflicts in the former Soviet Union to
our homeland security.

According to various news reports, the participants in this
dangerous scheme included both Georgians and Armenians, citizens of
two former Soviet republics with continuous ethnic and territorial
conflicts. Georgia is embroiled in a conflict to protect its
territorial integrity from Russian-backed separatists in Abkhazia and
Ossetia. Armenia, on the other hand, is engaged in a 15-year conflict
with neighboring Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabagh.

While continued ethnic conflict in the territory of Georgia
should be of concern to Washington, the more important and worrisome
connection is the involvement of Armenians and that country’s
continued occupation of Azerbaijan. Left unchecked, the conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan presents an immediate danger to
America’s energy and homeland security.

Soviet dictator Josef Stalin decided to play the ethnic card to
consolidate power by pitting one group against the other and imposing
artificial boundaries within the Soviet empire. The lingering war
between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the territory of Nagorno-Karabagh
is a tragic result of this ethnic gerrymandering. In 1988, the
ArmeniansofNagorno-Karabagh declared their “independence” and
unification with Armenia. With substantial support from Russia,
Armenia started a full-fledged military campaign in 1991. The ensuing
war led to the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory by
Armenia and forced about a million Azerbaijanis into the status of
refugee or internally displaced person.

Despite a Russian-brokered cease-fire in 1994, Moscow has
transferred $1 billion in illegal arms to its historic ally, Armenia,
between 1994 and 1997. And although the government of Armenia is
cooperating with U.S. law-enforcement agencies, it now appears that
some Armenians are turning their country into a “warehouse of evil”
and are trying to sell these Soviet missiles and other armaments to
Al Qaeda terrorists for use against the United States. The FBI has
expressed serious concern over shoulder-fired missiles that pose a
major security threat to American airlines.

Ironically, Congress has singled out Armenia for special favor
and Azerbaijan for special disfavor. Between 1992 and 2003, Armenia
received $1.336 billion in assistance from the U.S. government.
Azerbaijan, however, received only $335 million during this same
period. Despite its unjust treatment by the U.S. Congress, Azerbaijan
has remained a steadfast ally of the United States. When tragedy
struck America on Sept. 11, 2001, Azerbaijan offered immediate and
unconditional support.Today, its troops are working side-by-side with
U.S. forces in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan has stood beside the United States on a
major foreign-policy priority of Washington — the uninterrupted
exploration, development and transportation of Caspian Sea oil to
international markets. The anchor of this policy has been the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline running from Baku, the capital of
Azerbaijan, to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean. On
May 25, this historic pipeline will become operational. Crude oil
from the Caspian Sea — home to 10 percent of the world’s remaining
crude-oil reserves — will be on its way to the East Coast of the
United States.

Clearly, the resolution of this conflict must be of utmost
importance to President Bush, because it does indeed affect our
national security. According to the State Department’s 2005 fact
sheet, the United States does not recognize Nagorno-Karabagh as an
independent country. Washington supports the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan.

With this in mind, the Bush administration should take a more
robust approach to a swift resolution of the Nagorno-Karabagh
conflict in a fair and balanced manner. The presidents of both
Azerbaijan and Armenia have expressed strong support for a peaceful
resolution of their conflict and Washington should seize on this
goodwill.
A summit at the White House hosted by President Bush could serve
as a catalyst to end this festering regional conflict with its direct
threat to American security. There is international consensus on the
broad outlines of a solution. Armenians must withdraw from all
occupied territories. Azerbaijan should regain full sovereignty over
Nagorno-Karabagh.
The rights of Armenians to live in peace within the territory of
Nagorno-Karabagh must be secured and guaranteed, as must the right of
Azerbaijanis to return to their ancient homeland if they so desire.
The introduction of NATO peacekeepers into the conflict zone would be
a first step towards a permanent solution, thus keeping the region
from manipulation by criminal elements whose goal is to harm America.

When Afghanistan became a “warehouse of evil” for criminals like
Osama bin Laden, Americans paid a heavy price on September 11. We
cannot afford another region of the world to fall prey to criminal
elements. The United States must act now before it is too late.

S. Rob Sobhani is president of Caspian Energy Consulting and a
member of the Committee on the Present Danger.