CONFLICT IN THE CAUCUSUS; TENSIONS MOUNT
By William O. Beeman
FinalCall.com, IL
145.shtml
Aug 27 2008
U.S. interference leads to increased tension in Georgia
No one should be surprised that U.S. interference in the Caucasus
has led to the Russian invasion of South Ossetia. By mixing into
the volatile politics of the Caucasus, and trying to recruit the
governments there to become American "plumbers" for a variety of
purposes, the United States has only drawn Russian fire.
The Caucasus was one of the last territories added to the Russian
Empire in the 19th century. It was captured from the Qajar Empire of
Iran. The Caucasians never were fully incorporated into Greater Russia,
and maintained a fierce cultural separatism. Georgia in particular
was proudly nationalistic, with a distinctive language, cuisine,
literary tradition and writing system.
It is arguable that had Josef Stalin not been Georgian, the Caucasian
region might never have been part of the Soviet Union. Georgia
chafed under Soviet rule, and the wily Soviets enlisted other
Caucasian minorities to keep the peace in the region, including the
Ossetians. However, Stalinist nationalities philosophy made sure that
no one ethnic group ever became too strong. One way to do this was to
draw borders in such a way that groups would be split by administrative
boundaries. The division between North and South Ossetia was one of
these divisions.
The fall of the Soviet Union created three new independent nations in
the Caucasus: Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Almost immediately
the ethnic enclaves in all of these nations began to fulminate
for territorial reunification with their co-ethnic populations
in other nations. These included South Ossetia and Abkhazia in
Georgia, Nakhchivan in Armenia, which is mostly Azerbaijani; and
Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, which is mostly Armenian.
Enter the United States. U.S. interests in this region were vastly
different than that of the people of the region, or of Russia. The
United States wanted access to Caspian Sea oil, and it wanted to
contain Iran. The Caucasian nations were ideal for both purposes. The
United States blasted ahead with no regard for the historical tensions
in the region.
Therefore the United States blindly pursued a steady policy of propping
up the dictatorial regimes of the region. Georgia, Azerbaijan and
Armenia are among the most corrupt nations on earth, and it was easy
to buy a government. The price for this support was unquestioning
alliance with the United States and its regional policies.
Access to Caspian oil was one burning policy goal of all
administrations since 1990. The easy route for transport of petroleum
products from the region would be through Iran’s well developed
pipeline system. Literally just a few miles of pipeline would connect
the Azerbaijani oil fields to the Iranian system. However, Washington
was ready to do almost anything to avoid providing any economic
benefit to Iran. Hence, working with U.S. petroleum producers, they
constructed a difficult and tortuous pipeline across Azerbaijan and
Georgia, to emerge in Turkey for shipping to the world. Many millions
in government bribes changed hands to make this happen.
As Iran became a target of the George W. Bush administration,
having friendly powers in the Caucasus became a priority for the
Washington establishment. The Velvet Revolution in Georgia was aided
by the United States. In Azerbaijan, the United States virtually
installed the current president, Ilham Aliyev, son of the previous
president for life, Heydar Aliyev. The election itself was highly
controversial. Heydar Aliyev was in Cleveland, Ohio for medical
treatment, and was rumored to have died four months before his son
was elected. The United States government was reportedly involved in
the cover-up, and supported Ilham’s election despite mass protests
among Azerbaijani citizens.
President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia has close ties to the United
States, having graduated with law degrees from Columbia and George
Washington Universities. He was the leader of the Rose Revolution in
2003, which ousted President Eduard Shevardnadze, former Soviet foreign
minister, and striking a blow for Georgian independence. Elected
president in 2004, he also greatly improved ties with Israel, and
received an honorary doctorate from Haifa University, and has allowed
Israeli intelligence to operate in Georgia. All of this endeared him
to the Bush administration.
The United States tried to engineer the entrance of Georgia into
NATO in April, 2008, but was surprised when 10 NATO members vetoed
the proposal. Russia viewed this as a hostile act on the part of the
United States.
President Saakashvili’s presidency has not stopped continual ethnic
violence from breakaway regions in his country. The South Ossetia
conflict is only one of the latest, but it was different in that
it serves as a smokescreen for Russian attacks on Saakashvili’s
government.
If Saakashvili should be ousted from office, a major U.S. and Israeli
outpost would be lost. The fate of the oil pipeline would be in
danger, and pressure on Iran would lessen considerably. All of these
outcomes are seen as disastrous for the Bush administration. Thus all
of the high-minded rhetoric about Georgian sovereignty coming out of
Washington is ultimately cynical. If U.S. interests were not at stake,
no one would care.
(William O. Beeman is a professor and chair of the department of
anthropology at the University of Minnesota. He has lived and worked
in the Middle East region for more than 30 years. This column was
distributed by New America Media.)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
