Analyst says USA plans to use Azerbaijan for launching strikes on Iran

Trend news agency
13 Apr 05

BAKU

The brief visit to Azerbaijan by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
was not so much connected with the possible stationing of US troops in
Azerbaijan as it was with the possible use of Azerbaijan’s military
infrastructure, political analyst Rasim Musabayov has told Trend.

“But before this infrastructure can be used, it has to be modernized,
which will require certain expenditure. And that, in turn, requires a
guarantee from the country’s administration. This is what might have
been the subject of negotiations,” Musabayov said.

Another aspect of the negotiations, the analyst said, could be the
attractiveness of the Caspian energy resources and the geographic
location of the region for different countries. In this connection,
the expert added, “considering the fact that the direct involvement of
the USA is rather complicated, the sides could have discussed the
issue of ensuring the security in the Caspian using Azerbaijan’s own
resources with the help of American specialists”.

Another political analyst, Zardust Alizada, holds a slightly different
view on Rumsfeld’s visit to Azerbaijan.

“Politicians of Donald Rumsfeld’s calibre usually visit countries like
Azerbaijan only once. But apparently, the Pentagon chief failed to
come to an agreement with the Azerbaijani leadership during his
previous visits, which is why he has paid his third visit,” Alizada
said.

The political analyst believes that Rumsfeld’s visit is explained by
Washington’s desire to boost its military and political presence in
the region: both from the standpoint of the security of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and from the standpoint of
preparations for strikes against Iran.

“Washington intends to use Azerbaijan as a foothold for dealing a blow
to Iran. The USA already has such footholds in three other countries
around Iran,” Alizada added.