Double Snore!

The accusations and counter accusations have been sparse for the last few days.  There seems to be a parting of the Red Sea of the blogosphere while the Palestinians and the Israelis sit down for a little tete a tete.

No worries, give the devil his due.  We can't have war until we have peace.

Thar's gold in them thar Azeri provinces in Iran

According to Azerbaijan's "Trend", 98 thousand tons of proven reserves to be exact, but who's counting?  It belongs to Iran at the moment, but the Azerbaijanis and the Kurds are coveting thy neighbors gold.  Nothing to see here folks, move along....

Let's face it, the mineral wealth in this area is beyond calculation.  Wars have been fought for less, and I personally can't imagine a peaceful outcome to this one.

Probably won't check back in till Sunday.

Anyone need copper?

According to some fee based Azerbaijani web site, a copper mine has been discovered inside Iran's west Azerbaijani province with over 600 thousand tons.  Of course, we all know that anywhere an Azerbaijani lives should be part of Azerbaijan.  In fact, there is a movement in Azerbaijan to call themselves "North Azerbaijan" to differentiate itself from "Southern Azerbaijan" which is being 'occupied' by the Iranians.  For their part, the Iranians claim that the entirety of Azerbaijan was ceded by them to the Russian empire back in the 19th century, and it is time for it to return to the motherland.  Unfortunately for the Iranians, most of their Azerbaijani population lives around the Caspian sea.  If these territories were to be handed over to Baku, Iran would lose its access to the sea and untold treasure in terms of oil and natural gas.

Let's just say that whatever other mineral riches might be there would be nothing more than icing on the cake.  Hence, whatever the claims Azerbaijan might have on Nagorno-Karabahk, you can count on Tehran to side with Armenia.  Let me give you an example:  Suppose their is a colony of Mexicans living in Guatemala, and the Mexican government wants to annex part of Guatemala because of this.  At the same time, they are considering calling themselves "Southern Mexico."  "Northern Mexico" is the southwest US.  Washington would certainly support the Guatemalans in their border dispute.

Well, I think I covered a very large topic quite succinctly!  I'm a busy man, don't you you?

Monday saw another accusation by Azerbaijan that Armenia had violated the ceasefire by firing on Azeri troops once again.  This will get repetitive, but eventually, one of these incidents will make world headlines.

Snore....

Not much happening today.  This might be a good opportunity to do cover some of the background, but I'll have to see if I have the time and energy later on.  According to an Azerbaijani news site (APA), an Iranian Ambassador affirms that “Peace and security won’t be achieved in the region, unless the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is solved”.  Yes, that is the whole crux of the issue is it not?  Another tiny plot of land that has the capacity to bring the world to the point of a hellish conflagration.  Of course, the land and the issues behind it or not so important in and of themselves.  It is simply where Russia and Iran have decided to draw the line.  NK will remain independent/Armenian come hell or high water.  The "West" has armed Azerbaijan to the teeth, and it has Turkey's implicit backing.  More on this later..

Georgia's president Saakashvili has accused the Russia of bribing his own prime minister.  Russia is also guilty of sabotaging the Georgian nation and provoking it countless nefarious ways.  Strong words for a president who launched a losing war against the same Russia just 5 years ago.  Some people never learn. :(

Where's the Humanity?

According to Eurasianet.org, Azerbaijan is 'blaming' both Greece and Cyprus of selling French/German missiles to the Armenians for the last few years.  What troubles me here is not missiles were sold or who is selling them or where they're headed.  I'm confused by the term "blame."  Perhaps it's just a bad translation, but it really lacks any punch.  Unless it's said by someone so powerful, that their mere displeasure is enough to scare the bejesus out of you.  If Don Corleone said he blamed you for something, you would either run for your life, or beg for forgiveness.  I doubt Azerbaijan's frown carries that much weight.

Perhaps the significance in this is that Greece is trying to distance itself from NATO (ie Turkey) and the genocidal EU.  Who knows?  WW3 is going to be mostly fought behind the scenes.  The world is far too poor to field standing armies, and the weapons are so powerful as to make any substantial conglomeration of troops nothing more sitting ducks.  This is going to be more a game of poker than a football game.  However, don't be too surprised if someone finally has their bluff called.  The Light Show will be legendary!

In other news, the Kyiv Post, reports that the US has an illegal biological laboratory in Georgia.  This is puzzling.  What could they be making there that they couldn't make better and cheaper in the US and then ship to Georgia?  Beats me, unless there is some new compound that doesn't travel well and must be made in large enough quantities to really make an impact in a regional war.  Then again, maybe it isn't true at all?

Another Day and Another....

claim of ceasefire violations.  Anyone following this region can only be fatigued by the seemingly endless accusations and counter accusations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.  Today was a report of no less than 250 (!) ceasefire violations in the last week (!).  "Over 1000 shots fired at Armenian frontline positions."  I don't doubt any of it for a minute, as I have no doubt that tomorrow, the Azerbaijani propaganda ministry will claim even worse transgressions on the part of Armenia.  

The PR/propaganda/news outfits for both sides seem quite well funded, but I think the average American would be more comfortable with the Azerbaijani version.  It is obviously run by either an Israeli or American PR firm.  The money spent on it must be impressive.  The Armenian side seems to be funded by the prosperous diaspora community, and they probably get more bang for their buck directly hiring native English speaking Armenians.  Their press is more clumsy, but I'd guess it's a lot cheaper.  For the dozen or so people world wide who are interested in the subject, the quantity and quality of the two sides versions are very compatible.

In the July 19 version of the "Voice of Russia" UK edition, Dr Marcus Papadopoulos did an impressive job of explaining "Georgia's geo-political significance."  According to the good Dr, the US interest in Georgia is two-fold:  It is on the path of the Nabucco pipeline taking Azerbaijani oil to European markets through Turkey, and it's location offers a excellent means of containing Russia from the prized Middle Eastern Oil.  He mentions twice that this tiny country has the potential to bring Russia and the USA into direct conflict.  

Sakashvilli tried it in 2008, but it seemed that since Turkey would have had to do most of the fighting, they got cold feet and wouldn't allow the US fleet into the Black Sea.  The whole operation went sideways, and our grand leaders decided to nuke Lehman Brothers instead of the Russians.  The rest is history.  

Turkey ruffles it's feathers

The voices in Armenia calling for lands 'stolen' by Turkey are getting louder and more prominent.  Their prosecutor general (whoever that is), Aghvan Hovsepyan, has called for Turkey to relinquish lands taken long ago.  Naturally, Turkey frowned on the idea.  Whoever, Mr. Hovsepyan is, he does work for the government, and he wasn't censored for saying this.

Let's face it, there isn't one border in the world that isn't disputed.  Governments have only one interest, taxing everything that moves and everything that doesn't.  They will never willingly give up any parcel of land, no matter how unimportant it may seem.  The fact that Armenia feels confident enough to say this being nearly surrounded by hostile countries can only mean that Russia has given them a green light: More on this later!

Well, Turkey's ethnic cousins in Azerbaijan are beating the drums every day for a return of the province of Nagorno-Karabakh.  Is not what's good for the goose also good for the gander?  Indeed it is!  At least in theory.  The fact is that these age old hatreds are boiling up with nuclear armed patrons on both sides.  

I really don't have enough time to dedicate to this important subject, but I'll do the best I can.

Introduction

Hello World!  I have been following the events and studying some of the history in the south Caucasus for over a year now.  In spite of the near spark of WW3 in Georgia in 2008, there has been painfully little coverage of the area in the so-called alternative media.  The MSM, of course, doesn't know it exists.  I chose the title for this blog from a statement from Russia's Deputy Prime Minister for the Defense Industry, Dmitri Rogozin who said something to the effect of Russia's policy to it's defense being to use a 'velvet glove with an iron fist.'  It's sort of like FDR's policy of "walk softly and carry a big stick."

Anyway, I am going to try to dedicate a 1/2 hour per day on the subject until the nuclear bombs start going off.  The hatreds seem to run deep in that part of the world.  Americans are only allowed a superficial and commercial version of hatred.  We have no tribe or collective memory.  The television screen guides us from one villain to another located in places we've never heard of or could even find on a map.  The south Caucasus (SC) on the other hand, have grudges and disputes that go back centuries.  Grudges that they claim have resulted in genocides.  My intention is not lay opinion on these disputes, rather, if there is anyone in the world interested in the subject, I'll do my best to explain them to the best of my ability.  Unfortunately, I don't think I can do the topic justice in the short time available before the shooting starts.

Of course, the fighting won't be limited the SC anymore than WW1 was limited to the Balkans, but that was the spark that led to deaths of countless millions of people.  The Balkans were worth watching in 1913-1914, as the SC are worth watching today.

I'm not of professional blogger, so this will all take part very much in my limited spare time.

Sincerely,

Beagle Juice