Whenever Donald Rumsfeld makes a stop in Baku, you can guarantee that a statement announcing that the US has no plans for a military base in Azerbaijan is soon to follow. Pravda comes right out and says that we plan to set up a base and attack Iran from Azerbaijan.
EurasiaNet reports on the speculation noting that both pro-government and opposition parties fear that the United States is trying to cut a deal with the other side.
The US and Azerbaijan certainly do have a close military relationship, and the US is very interested in helping Azerbaijan protect its Caspian oil rights against claims of other states, particularly Iran. Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister certainly professes closeness to the US. One issue brought up was Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. It’s pretty easy to see why they don’t like it and it’s a bit odd that it’s still in place (though it has been waived).
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Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.
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Very interesting.
Oh, duh. This is probably a meeting for Caspian Guard.