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Rumsfeld Baku visit leaves questions behind
by Baku Sun 18/04/2005 09:42
Baku Sun, Azerbaijan
April 18 2005
BAKU - In a display of the Caspian region's strategic importance to
America, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld took time out from a
fast moving tour of America's war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, to pay
a third visit to Azerbaijan Tuesday night, his first arrival in a year.
According to local reports, during his roughly three-hour visit
Rumsfeld met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Defense Minister Safar
Abiyev and addressed Azeri peacekeepers in Iraq and the current pace
of settlement talks regarding the Karabakh conflict.
While brief, the trip generated huge interest among Azerbaijani
media, with some reports calling the visit "shrouded in secrecy."
Local analysts blamed the suspicion on recent international
speculation that the United States seeks to establish a major
military presence in Azerbaijan. The so-called Caspian Guard will
reportedly be headquartered in Baku and comprised of American
troops trained for rapid response missions for regional crises. The
guard is part of Rumsfeld's overall strategy to re-craft America's
overseas military units from bulky Cold War bases to more deployable
units flexible enough to put together different force packages for
different operations. While specific information on the unit is hard
to obtain, a recent report in the Wall Street Journal quoted Chief
of U.S. European Command, General James Jones addressing the U.S.
Congress about the guard. Jones said the U.S. plans to allocate some
$100 million to cover the guard's first 10 years of activities.
The guard will reportedly be one of the U.S. European Command's
10 posts, with the Caspian region included in its area of
responsibility. The command center will boast the most up-to-date radar
equipment and also focus on dealing with potential terror attacks on
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline.
The center will boast the capability to assist the Azerbaijani
government in monitoring ship navigation related to Caspian oil
operations and also help the government's battle against drug and
weapons trafficking.On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan
Reno Harnish reacted to questions about the guard by attempting to
cool rumors that Washington intended to position military forces
in Azerbaijan.
"Washington hasn't any plans on the accommodation of any military
forces in Azerbaijan to safeguard the security in the Caspian,"
Russia's news agency Interfax quoted Harnish as saying.
At the Airport
After meeting with American troops in Iraq, Rumsfeld arrived at
Heydar Aliyev International airport Tuesday where he met with Harnish,
General Abiyev, and Azerbaijan Ambassador to the U.S. Hafiz Pashayev.
Abiyev said he stressed to Rumsfeld the need for Washington to abolish
Section 907 to the Freedom Support Act.
The two also exchanged views on the peaceful resolution to the Karabakh
conflict, with Abiyev explaining that no considerable progress had
been made to settle the conflict. Abiyev noted that Armenia had not
given up its policy of aggression and continues to receive weapons
with the aid of its allies.
"The BTC pipeline will be commissioned shortly. However, the unresolved
status of Karabkh represents the greatest threat to the project,"
he said.
Rumsfeld said he met with Azerbaijani peacekeepers during his visit
to Iraq and thanked Abiyev for their outstanding service. He highly
valued Azerbaijan's integration into Europe and stressed that the
U.S. backs Baku in this area.
After the meeting, Rumsfeld left Baku for Pakistan, where President
Ilham Aliyev had left for on an official mission earlier in the day.
by Baku Sun 18/04/2005 09:42
Baku Sun, Azerbaijan
April 18 2005
BAKU - In a display of the Caspian region's strategic importance to
America, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld took time out from a
fast moving tour of America's war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, to pay
a third visit to Azerbaijan Tuesday night, his first arrival in a year.
According to local reports, during his roughly three-hour visit
Rumsfeld met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Defense Minister Safar
Abiyev and addressed Azeri peacekeepers in Iraq and the current pace
of settlement talks regarding the Karabakh conflict.
While brief, the trip generated huge interest among Azerbaijani
media, with some reports calling the visit "shrouded in secrecy."
Local analysts blamed the suspicion on recent international
speculation that the United States seeks to establish a major
military presence in Azerbaijan. The so-called Caspian Guard will
reportedly be headquartered in Baku and comprised of American
troops trained for rapid response missions for regional crises. The
guard is part of Rumsfeld's overall strategy to re-craft America's
overseas military units from bulky Cold War bases to more deployable
units flexible enough to put together different force packages for
different operations. While specific information on the unit is hard
to obtain, a recent report in the Wall Street Journal quoted Chief
of U.S. European Command, General James Jones addressing the U.S.
Congress about the guard. Jones said the U.S. plans to allocate some
$100 million to cover the guard's first 10 years of activities.
The guard will reportedly be one of the U.S. European Command's
10 posts, with the Caspian region included in its area of
responsibility. The command center will boast the most up-to-date radar
equipment and also focus on dealing with potential terror attacks on
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline.
The center will boast the capability to assist the Azerbaijani
government in monitoring ship navigation related to Caspian oil
operations and also help the government's battle against drug and
weapons trafficking.On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan
Reno Harnish reacted to questions about the guard by attempting to
cool rumors that Washington intended to position military forces
in Azerbaijan.
"Washington hasn't any plans on the accommodation of any military
forces in Azerbaijan to safeguard the security in the Caspian,"
Russia's news agency Interfax quoted Harnish as saying.
At the Airport
After meeting with American troops in Iraq, Rumsfeld arrived at
Heydar Aliyev International airport Tuesday where he met with Harnish,
General Abiyev, and Azerbaijan Ambassador to the U.S. Hafiz Pashayev.
Abiyev said he stressed to Rumsfeld the need for Washington to abolish
Section 907 to the Freedom Support Act.
The two also exchanged views on the peaceful resolution to the Karabakh
conflict, with Abiyev explaining that no considerable progress had
been made to settle the conflict. Abiyev noted that Armenia had not
given up its policy of aggression and continues to receive weapons
with the aid of its allies.
"The BTC pipeline will be commissioned shortly. However, the unresolved
status of Karabkh represents the greatest threat to the project,"
he said.
Rumsfeld said he met with Azerbaijani peacekeepers during his visit
to Iraq and thanked Abiyev for their outstanding service. He highly
valued Azerbaijan's integration into Europe and stressed that the
U.S. backs Baku in this area.
After the meeting, Rumsfeld left Baku for Pakistan, where President
Ilham Aliyev had left for on an official mission earlier in the day.