17 09 2009- Jabarian Sen. McCain and Pres. Saakashvili Trigger Cold War II

TEAM USA ARMENIAN LIFE
In a Sept. 5 column, this writer predicted that the former Soviet Republic of Georgia's Pres. Mikhail Saakashvili's misguided military move against Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in the breakaway state of South Ossetia has de facto triggered a counter-"Rose Revolution" process; and that the process which already resulted in Russia's trashing of Georgia's army may soon bring reversal of fortunes both for him and his neo-con masters in Washington and elsewhere.

Sure enough! On Sunday, Sept. 7, The Venezuelan government announced that four Russian naval vessels will participate in joint exercises in the Caribbean this year, a move that could worsen the already strained relations between Washington and Moscow. A task force including four Russian naval vessels and 1,000 Russian military personnel would take part in mid-November exercises with Venezuelan frigates, patrol boats, submarines and aircraft. The announcement came shortly after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's deployment of several warships to the Black Sea in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Georgia last month would not go unanswered, reported Chris Kraul of the Los Angeles Times.

Did Saakashvili's U.S. supporters, mainly Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CN), think about the consequences of their nod of approval for Saakashvili's Georgian army's attack on Russia? Did Sen. McCain realize how much political liability he was acquiring by his belligerent pronouncement that "We are all Georgians now?"

Now that the Russian "bear has awoken, we need to think before we speak, and plan and act before we commit ourselves too deeply, beyond the range and strength of our power. Our freedom is at stake, endangered by the West's weakness and folly," wrote British Member of Parliament John Redwood (Conservative-Wokingham) on Sept 9.

Should the Neo-cons in the West be placed under tighter public scrutiny? Absolutely!

And how should the West respond to Russia? "Today the West needs to understand why Russia is so alarmed by NATO's current stance, and to understand how there is no acceptable military option for the West to dominate in Georgia and to determine borders so close to Russia. In other words, we need to talk to Russia, and to discuss the issue of splinter regions from Georgia. We need to discuss the whole architecture of states around Russia's western and southern border, to avoid committing NATO to maintain borders we cannot in practice enforce at an acceptable military cost, and to allay Russian fears to make Russian military action less likely. We need to see how big the disagreements are and to assess if any other state apart from Georgia is in danger of a Russian invasion. So far the West has not won over enough independent world opinion to strengthen its hand in negotiation with Russia," continued Redwood.

The United States as the world's only superpower for nearly twenty years "is coming up against other important powers in China, Russia and the Middle East that it would be unwise to attack head on. Worse still, the US is in danger of creating too many different enemies and threats, fighting a live war in the Middle East, a cold war with Russia, and engaged in a superpower struggle of various kinds with China, primarily in the economic sphere in the first instance. Even the world's superpower has to be careful not to overstretch. It is dangerous to create so many opponents. If you want your country to be free, it needs to be both strong and wise. We are in danger of being neither," concluded Redwood.

Speaking of the Neo-cons' mishandling of U.S. foreign policy vis-à-vis Russia, John Toradze of www.opednews.com, wrote on Sept. 9: "We proved that whether they [Russians] are weak or strong, friendly or not, we will treat them as an enemy when we pressed to expand NATO and then bombed Serbia, which is culturally to Russia like England is to the USA. Additionally, we showed that we will disregard any claims they may have based on their investments and will do our best to cut them out of revenue streams when we kicked them out of Iraq with billions invested outstanding and refused to split the oil flow from central Asia with a Russian pipeline."

Drawing a stark contrast between the reality on the American soil and the one in the Russian sphere of influence, Toradze concluded: "Folks, we are not in the driver's seat anymore with Russia. We are dealing now with an opponent we insisted on having, an opponent that is now largely of our own making. The USA would not put up with Russia bringing an independent Washington State (somewhat like the country of Georgia) into an alliance between Russia and China. Nor would the USA put up with California declaring its independence (like Ukraine) and then becoming allied with the same Asian power axis. Not on your life would we accept that! And if, like Russia, to compound that, we had China just to our southern border, we would be extremely alarmed. That is what Russia's situation is like. America needs to 'get it.'"

America's Founding Fathers had not intended to see the United States embroiled in imperialistic objectives pursued by certain circles that are driven by self-interests at the expense of the American people.

The United States ill affords overstretching its human and economic resources without any valid reason. This great country needs economic protection from elements from within. Fellow Americans should not allow the economic oligarchs defraud them out of good-paying jobs and healthy economy. They should not allow them to further weaken America's physical economy by shipping out manufacturing industries to China and other countries, and then turn around and divert public's attention away from the main issues by creating a set of phony wars and misguided international crises.

Furthermore, America should be preserved as a bastion of democracy and a lighthouse of human rights and values, just like the Founding Fathers had envisioned.

The Founding Fathers must be turning in their graves to see their beloved nation being derailed by economic and political self-interests. They must be also questioning the patriotism of these same forces that are trampling upon the set of values that have been bequeathed by the Founders.

Sassounian's Commentary
Armenia Lost
the Soccer Match,
But Gained
International Prestige

Harut Sassunian

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier.

I witnessed history in the making last week when the Turkish President, at the invitation of the Armenian President, paid his first ever visit to Armenia to watch the soccer match between the national teams of their respective countries - a qualifying game for the 2010 World Cup finals.

Before the match, some Armenians had been predicting with great nationalistic fervor an outright victory for Armenia, while others were certain that the game would end in a draw, in keeping with the atmosphere of political reconciliation. Armenians frowned upon this writer when he suggested that the powerful Turkish team would most probably win and that the practice of state mandated outcomes for soccer games had ceased with the demise of the Soviet Union. As I had anticipated, the Armenian team lost 2-0 in a lackluster game against the more powerful, but overly cautious Turkish team.

When the Turkish President's jet arrived at Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport last Saturday, he was greeted with proper state protocol and hundreds of protesters. Later on, as he arrived at the Presidential Palace for a meeting with the Armenian President, there were more protests, not against him or his visit, but the Turkish state's denial of the Armenian Genocide. There were lengthy debates in both the Turkish and the Armenian press about the appropriateness of such protests.

I believe it would have been highly surprising if the head of the Turkish state that continues to deny the Armenian Genocide had visited Armenia without a single Armenian reminding him that there is an on-going injustice and unresolved issues between the two countries. In the absence of such protests, the Turkish President would have drawn the wrong conclusion that Armenians in Armenia had no problems with Turkey and that the Genocide issue is only raised by the Diaspora, particularly since it was reported that the Genocide was not discussed at all between the two presidents. To draw Pres. Gul's attention to this important issue, ARF members unfurled a giant unsanctioned banner during the soccer match that called for: "Recognition and Reparations."

Many Armenians were unhappy that the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) had just decided to remove the sketch of Mount Ararat from the FFA logo on the Armenian soccer players' uniforms. They viewed this removal as an undesirable attempt to appease Turkey. Some members of the Armenian Parliament were so irate that they pledged to raise their objection in Parliament and possibly take legal action against the FFA.

Nevertheless, the soccer match provided a unique opportunity for Pres. Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian to meet with their Turkish counterparts in Yerevan to discuss the Artsakh (Karabagh) conflict, possible diplomatic relations between the two countries, the blockade of Armenia by Turkey, and the Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform - a new Turkish initiative. The two foreign ministers, after huddling long past midnight, decided to continue their discussions later this month while attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Meanwhile, Pres. Gul invited his Armenian counterpart to come to Istanbul on Oct. 14, 2009 to watch with him the return match between the two national soccer teams.

It is not known how much progress was registered in last Saturday's discussions. Both sides made optimistic statements at the conclusion of their meetings. Several observations could be made, however, regarding recent developments in the region:
-- Both Armenia and Turkey have come under intense diplomatic pressure from the United States, Europe and Russia to resolve their long-standing problems which would enable these foreign powers to secure their energy supplies from the Caspian Sea region and engage in the transfer of goods by rail across now closed borders.
-- The Georgian-Ossetian-Russian conflict has raised Armenia's geopolitical significance in the region at the expense of Georgia and Azerbaijan.
-- Turkish officials no longer seem to be setting the resolution of the Artsakh conflict as a pre-condition to establishing relations with Armenia.
-- Since Pres. Gul was strongly urged by his domestic opponents, hardliners within his own administration as well as Azerbaijani officials not to go to Armenia, imagine how much more pressure he would have to endure should he decide to establish diplomatic relations with Yerevan and open the closed border with Armenia in the near future!

Finally, one concrete attempt at historical reconciliation between a very special Turk and a very special Armenian already succeeded. Milliyet's journalist Hasan Cemal, the grandson of one of the three masterminds of the Armenian Genocide, Jemal Pasha, had a very touching meeting earlier this week in Yerevan with the grandson of his grandfather's Armenian assassin in Tbilisi in 1922. A few days ago, Hasan Cemal visited the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan and placed a wreath in memory of the Armenian victims!

LETTER TO EDITOR
1. (Jabarian's Column) -- William Saroyan, an American and Armenian Literary Icon, Continues to "Happen!"

Dear Appo
Thank you for this lovely piece about Saroyan and his thoughts. I particularly loved the line you wrote "his memory's permanent address is posterity." Marvelous line.
I have a deep appreciation for people like you who are involved Armenians and who bring honor to our ethnic group. Never think of yourself as under appreciated. I learned long ago to rise above pettiness and to travel the higher road. Writing is one of the best ways to do this.
And I agree with Saroyan. Creative people like us should be the exception and never die. Oh, if it could only be.

Regards,
Betty Apigian Kessel
Detroit, MI, USA


2. Re: (Jabarian's column) -- Georgia's Adventurous Pres. Saakashvili
Triggered A Counter-"Rose Revolution"

Dear Mr Jabarian, An excellent article on the recent stupidity by the Georgian president.

You managed to tell your readers the real masters of Saakashvili. Whenever Soros' name is mentioned, you know there is trouble.

Sincerely
Stavros Stavridis


3. Re: (Jabarian's column) -- Georgia's Adventurous Pres. Saakashvili
Triggered A Counter-"Rose Revolution"

Dear Mr Jabarian,
Thank you for your article. Below is the Google report for Akhalkalak.

Regards,
Noel Drorian

Samtskhe-Javakheti
Address:
By: gert7 - ?maps.google.com
1 of 38 placemarks in EME Travel? - 67k

Samtskhe-Javakheti is a province in Georgia, with a population of 208,000.
According to the 2002 census ethnic Armenians, chiefly concentrated in Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda districts (Javakheti), are the majority in the region, making up about 54% of the population, which they share with Pontian Greeks, Ossetians and Georgians.
Armenians are underrepresented in all spheres of public life and especially government - only three of the governor's 26 staff are Armenians (11 per cent). The same is true for the territorial departments of different ministries. For instance, only sixteen of 82 staff (19.5 per cent) of the tax department in Samtskhe-Javakheti are Armenians. Lack of dialogue between local Armenians and Tbilisi adds to perceptions of discrimination and alienation. There have been demonstrations, alleged police brutality and killings in this region. Many Armenians claim they are treated as second-class citizens. The local Armenian civic organization, United Javakhk Democratic Alliance calls for local autonomy, comparable with the one promised to Abkhazians and Ossetians. This region was the home of Meskhetian Turks who were expelled by Stalin in 1944.
One of the major tourist attraction in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia is the Vardzia (which was founded by Queen Tamar in 1185) and Vanis Kvabebi (which dates from 8th century) cave monasteries. They are located near the town of Aspindza, Georgia.


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The Nationally Acclaimed Author of
"The Knock At The Door"
Margaret Ahnert Ajemian's
Canadian Lecture and
Book Signing '08 Tour Event Schedule:

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: University of Toronto
Street: 100 St. George Street
Room number:Sidney Smith Hall, Room 1087
City: Toronto, Ontario
For more info contact: Liz Balian- 416 587 3319
Email: balian.liz@gmail.com

Friday, September 26, 2008
Time:7:30pm - 9:00pm
Location: McGill University, Leacock bldg, 2nd floor, room 232
Street: 855 Sherbrooke West
City: Montreal, Quebec
For more info contact: Kevork Kazandjian, 514-465-3930
Email: kevkaz@hotmail.com


Sunday, September 28, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Tekeyan Cultural Association
Street: 825 Manoogian Street
City: Montreal, Quebec
For more info contact: Harry Dikranian, 514-594-5968
Email: hd@skm.ca

Monday September 29, 2008
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
Street:7 Delaware Avenue
City: Ottawa, Ontario
For more info contact: Harry Dikranian, 514-594-5968
Email: hd@skm.ca

Monday September 29, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: University of Ottawa
Street: 145 Jean-Jacques Lussier
Building and room #: LAMOUREUX 390
City: Ottawa, Ontario
For more info contact: Arlaine MacLennan
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appojabarian@gmail.com.
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Appo Jabarian