[lbo-talk] Beeman: Georgia in terms of US vs. Iran (and Stalin)

Michael Pollak mpollak at panix.com
Wed Aug 13 10:23:07 PDT 2008


[Good backgrounder]

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=be0c1714ee6d115a328ec24b7d081e62

Posted: Aug 12, 2008

New America Media

News Analysis

Chickens Come Home to Roost in Georgia

William O. Beeman

William O. Beeman is 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.

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.

New America Media is a division of Pacific News Service

Copyright © Pacific News Service



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