U.S alliance with Third World despots is the cause of terrorism- Washington Post ---------
A 'Strong Performance'? Wednesday, October 22, 2003; Page A28
THE BUSH administration says it now recognizes that the U.S. toleration of corrupt Arab autocracies in exchange for their oil wealth and military cooperation was a mistake -- that the lack of freedom in those countries engendered its own threat to U.S. security, in the form of terrorist movements such as al Qaeda. Yet the administration is repeating the mistake in the Caucasus and Central Asia. A string of former Soviet republics there are ruled by dictators who crush opponents by force while seeking favor from the United States with offers of energy supplies and help with Iraq and Afghanistan. Though it claims to be promoting democracy, the administration has mostly swallowed the old bargain, reaping short-term gains while storing up long-term problems.
The latest test is Azerbaijan, where a Soviet-bred strongman, Heydar Aliyev, last week managed to install his son as his successor through a manifestly fraudulent presidential election. International observers reported massive irregularities, including bribery, beatings and arrests of opposition supporters, exclusion of some potentially strong candidates from the race, manipulation of voter lists and the open stuffing of ballot boxes. The official results gave Mr. Aliyev's 40-year-old son, Ilham, a margin of 80 percent to 12 percent over his main opponent. When opposition supporters staged a rally to protest this result, hundreds were beaten by police in the streets of Baku, the capital. In recent days, security forces have rounded up scores of other opposition supporters, including many in towns where no street protests occurred. Human rights groups report that some were election officials who had refused to sign fraudulent ballot box totals.
When asked about all this on Monday, the State Department issued a statement saying that Deputy Secretary Richard L. Armitage had called Ilham Aliyev, noted his "strong performance at the polls" and "reiterated our desire to work closely with him and with Azerbaijan in the future." In effect, the baby dictator and his dad were congratulated by a top official for their effectiveness in stealing votes and were promised smooth sailing in Washington. According to the statement, Mr. Armitage regretted the violence but did not place blame on the government; the administration's language suggested that the dozens of Azeris beaten senseless in Baku were equally responsible for the trouble. Only yesterday, after an internal debate, did another statement emerge describing the election as unfair and criticizing the recent arrests.
Though he is young and reportedly more fond of gambling than of political theory, Azerbaijan's new strongman probably won't have much trouble figuring out the bottom line. Compared with the promise of the oil and gas riches Azerbaijan is developing in cooperation with companies such as BP Amoco, ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil, or the country's easy grant of overflight rights to U.S. planes bound for Iraq, democracy is unimportant to this U.S. administration, at best the subject of belated protests. If Mr. Aliyev's opponents eventually turn from contesting elections to embracing anti-American extremism or terrorism, commentators who puzzle over the origins of the hatred will find part of the answer in Mr. Armitage's phone call.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A61897-2003Oct21?language=printer
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