Month: September 2013

RUSSIA’S ECONOMY MINISTRY COMMISSIONS STUDY FOR GAUGING EFFECT FROM JOINING OF SOME CIS COUNTRIES TO CUSTOMS UNION

YEREVAN, September 26. /ARKA/. Russia’s economy ministry has released
2.15 million rubles to commission a study for gauging the effect
from joining of some CIS countries to the Customs Union of Russia,
Belarus and Kazakhstan.

The study will assess changes in customs regimes of Armenia, Kyrgyzstan
and other countries which will be named by the ministry after the
launch of the study.

“The difference between the present import tariffs in CIS countries
and the Customs Union’s single tariff creates different negotiation
conditions and therefore requires quantitative assessment,”
Novosti-Armenia cites the ministry’s document referring to RIA
Novosti. “In this connection, it is necessary to assess how the
accession will change the amount and the cost of customs duties of
the countries.

The study has to be completed before December 15, 2013. Applications
for participation in the tender are accepted until October 28. Results
of tender will be announced on November 5.

In early September, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and his Russian
counterpart, Vladimir Putin, made a joint statement, according to
which Armenia has decided to join the Customs Union and to take part
in formation of the Eurasian Union in the future.

Kyrgyzstan’s government filed its official application for membership
in the Customs Union in spring 2011 and is expected to obtain it later
this year. Kyrgyzstan’s authorities expect that the country will get
certain preferences from this membership. —0—-

18:47 26.09.2013

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ACTOR, ACTIVIST SOS SARGSYAN DIES AT 84

Thursday, September 26th, 2013

Sos Sargsyan

YEREVAN-Renowned Armenian actor, playwright, People’s Artist and
political activist Sos Sargsyan passed away Thursday. He was 84.

Sargsyan was born in Stevanavan, in the Lori Region of Armenia and
moved to Yerevan in 1948 and worked as an actor in Armenia’s Youth
Theater.

He graduated from the Yerevan Fine Arts and Theatre Institute in 1954.

>From 1954 he performed at the Sundukyan Drama Theatre of Yerevan.

In 1992 he established and until his death in 2013 headed the
Hamazkayin Theater.

>From 1997 to 2005 he was the director of Yerevan Institute of Theater
and Cinema. From 2006 until his death he served as a member of the
board of directors of the institute.

Throughout his brilliant career, Sargsyan has starred in 20 Armenian
films and has worked in the Russian cinema, most notably in the 1972
film, Solaris, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.

In 2000, His Holiness Karekin II awarded Sargsyan the Armenian
Apostolic Church’s St. Sahag-St. Mesrob medal, honoring the actor’s
extraordinary 70-year career in the arts.

He is famous for his roles in such Armenian classics at “Gikor,”
“Dzori Miron,” “Khatabala” and “Menk enk, Mer Sarere.”

After Armenia’s independence Sargsyan also played a crucial role in
the political life of the country as an activist and intellectual. He
was a candidate for president in 1991, Armenia’s first presidential
elections, representing the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. In
2009 he was elected to parliament as a member of the ARF bloc.

FORMER AZERI COMMANDER VISITS ARTSAKH

Thursday, September 26th, 2013

Alikram Hummatov, former Azerbaijani deputy defense minister, speaks
in Stepanakert (Photo courtesy of RFE/RL)

STEPANAKERT (RFE/RL)-An exiled former Azerbaijani military leader
currently campaigning for the rights of an ethnic minority in
Azerbaijan visited Nagorno-Karabakh on Thursday two decades after
confronting Karabakh Armenian forces on the battlefield.

Alikram Hummatov, a retired colonel who had served as Azerbaijan’s
deputy defense minister, deplored the 1991-1994 war and called for a
peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as he met with
university students in Stepanakert. His messages of peace and criticism
of the current Azerbaijani government repeatedly drew cheers from an
audience that is too young to remember the horrors of the war.

“It’s nice to be in Artsakh,” Hummatov declared, using the Armenian
name of the disputed territory. “I believe that we must do everything
to establish peace in the region so that our beloved children live,
create and study in peaceful conditions.”

“I always say that if you fight in a war like a real man, you must
also be able to make peace like a real man,” he added.

Asked by RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) how he feels about
visiting a region which he had sought to forcibly put back under
Azerbaijani control, Hummatov said, “Yes, I went to war against
Nagorno-Karabakh and I don’t make secret of that, but today I hate
war because of having seen it. What gave me the right to send young
men to the battlefield? This and many other questions are keeping
me restless?”

Hummatov, who also met with Karabakh parliament speaker Ashot Ghulian,
rose to prominence in Azerbaijan in late 1991 as one of the organizers
of first Azerbaijani army units. He set up a battalion, subsequently
expanded into a brigade, that largely consisted of fellow Talysh, an
Iranian-speaking ethnic group concentrated in Azerbaijan’s southeastern
region bordering Iran. The unit battled Armenian forces at various
sections of the Karabakh frontline in 1992-1993.

Hummatov became deputy defense minister several months before
proclaiming in June 1993 a short-lived Talysh-Mughan Autonomous
Republic amid political turmoil in Baku. He was deposed and arrested
later in 1993. He subsequently received a life sentence on prison
charges.

The Azerbaijani authorities pardoned and freed Hummatov in 2004 under
pressure from the Council of Europe. The 65-year-old has since lived
in Europe.

Hummatov traveled to Karabakh from Armenia where he inaugurated
on Tuesday a graduate program of Talysh studies at Yerevan State
University (YSU). Addressing dozens of university professors and
students, he praised the initiative approved and clearly encouraged by
the Armenian government. He claimed that the Azerbaijani authorities
have been suppressing the cultural rights of Talysh as part of a
long-running policy of forced assimilation.

According to the Regnum news agency, Hummatov also called for
the revival of the Talysh republic, suggesting that it form a
“confederation” with the rest of Azerbaijan.

Hummatov’s trip to Armenia and Karabakh has caused a stir in Baku,
with many politicians there condemning it as high treason and accusing
the Armenians of fanning Talysh separatism. “The Armenians are thus
trying to show that Nagorno-Karabakh’s existence within Azerbaijan
is impossible,” 1news.az quoted Zahid Oruj, a pro-government
parliamentarian, as saying on Wednesday.

Another news agency, Salamnews.org, reported that Talysh leaders in
Azerbaijan have issued a statement condemning Hummatov and saying
that he cannot speak for their community. “The Talysh have given many
martyrs in the battles for Karabakh’s liberation from the Armenian
aggressors,” they said.

Azerbaijani officials accused the Armenian side of whipping up
separatist sentiment among their country’s Talysh and other minorities
even before Hummatov’s high-profile visit. In particular, they
condemned the launch last March of Talysh-language radio broadcasts
from Karabakh.

The Voice of Talyshstan radio station was founded by Garnik Asatrian,
a prominent Armenian academic who also set up the Talysh studies
program at YSU. Welcoming Hummatov at Armenia’s largest university
on Tuesday, Asatrian denied any ulterior motives behind the Armenian
interest in the Talysh people.

Asatrian insisted that YSU is simply expanding its department of
broader Iranian studies. “The Talysh are one of the largest Iranian
ethnic groups,” he said. “Besides, despite the religious difference,
of all indigenous peoples, the Talysh are the closest to the Armenians
in terms of culture and genetic parameters.”

SAAKASHVILI’S UN SPEECH WAS POLITICAL MISTAKE – OPINIONS

21:16 26.09.13

The Georgian president’s remarks on the Armenian-Azerbaijani tension
over Nagorno-Karabakh are not his first attempt to interfere in the
domestic affairs of Armenia, a political analyst has said, commenting
on Mikheil Saakahvili’s recent speech at the UN General Assembly.

“That’s, first of all, none of his business. Besides, there have never
been normal comments by Saakashvili. He has the right to deliver a
speech, but he is supposed to address the problems in Georgia instead
of bringing examples from other countries. I consider this a political
and human mistake,” Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan told Tert.am.

The expert said the Armenian Foreign Ministry has to give a mild
rebuke to Saakashvili, who has several times before tried to resolve
the problems in his country by citing Armenia as an example.

“Deprived of power at home, he tries to create a worldwide image of
a geopolitical figure or at least – a Transcaucasian leader,” he said.

In his speech at the General Assembly’s 68th ssession, Saakashvili
slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Eurasian Union plan,
considering it an attempt ‘to reclaim bygone borders’.

“Armenia has been cornered, and forced to sign on to the Customs
Union which is not in this nation’s interest or in the interest of our
region, Moldova is being blockaded, Ukraine is under attack, Azerbaijan
faces extraordinary pressure, and Georgia is occupied…Why? Because
an old Empire is trying to reclaim its bygone borders. And ‘borders’
is actually not the right word, since this Empire – be it the Russian
Empire, the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation, or the Eurasian
Union – never had borders. It only had margins. I came today to speak
in the name of these margined,” said the Georgian leader.

The Armenian expert disagreed to Saakashvili’s remark that Russia has
cornered Armenia. According to him, the real situation demonstrates
the contrary process.

“In the process launched since September 3 [when President Serzh
Sargsyan made the landmark statement about the Customs Union
membership], Armenia is in the role of an equal partner, if not the
dictating side. But it is possible to agree, to a certain extent,
to the opinion that Russia will not let Armenia celebrate a decisive
victory over Azerbaijan, or vice versa,” Melik-Shahnazaryan noted.

“Our tense relations with Azerbaijan are somewhat convenient to third
states because without peace in the region, different geopolitical
forces are given the chance of getting involved in the ongoing
political processes.”

The political analyst Manvel Sargsyan also agreed to the remark.

“Conflicts aim to create levers of influence,” he told our
correspondent.

As for Saakashvili’s speech, he said it wasn’t absolutely surprising
given that a number of countries seek very often to attribute the
problems in and around Europe to Russia.

“This is a concept which is quite widespread. What we see in Russia
is the opposite concept: they link all their grieves and concerns to
Europe and the West. This concept is pursued by different countriies.

The situation around the world is much more complicated, as a matter
of fact as there are bigger problems which are never discussed.”

Sargsyan said it is very primitive to agree to Saakashvili’s remark
that “an old Empire is trying to reclaim its bygone borders”. As for
Armenia, he said the country has to have concepts of its own not to be
“driven to a corner”.

“If it does not have a definite position and tries to gain advantages
from different international hustles and bustles, it will be driven
to one corner today and another tomorrow. Have the problems facing
the country ever been raised in Armenia to make a decision-making
possible? There is absolutely nothing of the kind; this is why they
all the time look here and there, making the decision that matches
the authorities’ interests at the given moment,” said the expert.

Armenian News – Tert.am

CENTURIES OF SYRIA’S HISTORY DESTROYED IN JUST TWO YEARS

21:35 ~U 26.09.13

Besides killing more than 100,000 people, Syria’s civil war is exacting
another irreparable toll as historic sites and artworks are looted
or destroyed in the fighting.

An emergency list of endangered artworks was released Wednesday at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The initiative stems from
the International Council of Museums, in collaboration with UNESCO
and the US State Department, reports Middle East Online.

“Major Syrian sites have been destroyed or damaged in two years. In
Apamea, a Roman city in the south, heavy looting on the archeological
site, around April 2011, and the minaret in Aleppo, burned a few months
ago,” said Bonnie Burnham, president and CEO, World Monuments Fund.

The minaret, which was nearly 1,000 years old, was destroyed in
fighting between government and rebel forces in April of this year.

The fighting left the mosque pockmarked with bullet holes.

Apamea suffered major looting, Bonham said.

The bad news does not stop there. Because of the war in Syria,
a cradle of civilizations whose heritage goes back to the Greeks,
the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire, many prestigious and
registered sites are under threat.

In central Syria, Palmyra, an oasis of Roman ruins boasting temples
and pillars, is exposed to looters and destruction.

The Crac des Chevaliers castle, which dates back to the Crusades and
perched on a hilltop in western Syria, as well as the old quarter of
the capital Damascus, are also in bad shape.

The US State Department said that in the six regions of Syria’s
cultural heritage that are listed by UNESCO as global treasures,
46 sites and hundreds of historic buildings are in danger.

The list just released aims to put out an alert “so that law
enforcement, art dealers and collectors can be aware of” the objects
that may be out there, said Anne Richard, assistant secretary of
state for population, refugees and migration.

She spoke at the presentation of the list on the sidelines of the UN
General Assembly.

She said ancient pieces have been found as smugglers tried to sneak
them out of Syria.

The list brings together items that are not stolen but come from
museums inside and outside Syria. The idea is to try to illustrate the
kinds of pieces that might end up being trafficked, said Hans-Martin
Hinz, president of ICOM.

It includes bronze plaques with inscriptions, statuettes made of
stone or precious metals, ceramic vases or pieces of mosaics.

Irina Bokova, UNESCO director-general, said “protecting heritage is
inseparable from protecting lives, it must be part of the humanitarian
effort.”

She said some pieces have been found on the market in Beirut and Amman,
but not much has been done in response.

While it is dramatic, the situation in Syria is hardly unique. Similar
lists were written up for Iraq, Egypt and Afghanistan. In the latter,
the famed Buddhas of Bamiyan dating back to the sixth century were
blown up by the Taliban in 2001.

Sheila Canby, curator in charge of the Metropolitan Museum’s Department
of Islamic Art, said at least part of Syria’s cultural heritage is
being erased.

“I don’t know the complete extent in every place but what I have seen
at Apamea, for example, is shocking, horrible,” she said. “It’s as
bad as it was in Afghanistan.”

Armenian News – Tert.am

ANCA PASADENA ENDORSES ALEX KELEDJIAN FOR PCC BOARD

Thursday, September 26th, 2013

Alex Keledjian

PASADENA-After interviewing the three candidates running for the
Pasadena Community College District Board of Trustees Area 1 seat, the
ANCA Pasadena Chapter Board has unanimously endorsed Alex Keledjian as
the best candidate for the PCC Board of Trustees. Keledjian has been an
active member of the Armenian American Community and has demonstrated
a unique perspective on how to find constructive solutions that would
help improve Pasadena City College.

He previously served as a board member to the Pasadena City College
Associated Students Finance Committee and Lobbying Committee, as
well as the student board member to the La Cañada Unified School
Board of Education, the Chairman of the La Cañada Flintridge Youth
Council and the president of the La Cañada High School Republican club.

Keledjian is running for Area 1 of the Pasadena Community College
District Board of Trustees (PACCD), which includes the City of La
Cañada Flintridge, the Pasadena neighborhoods of San Rafael and Linda
Vista, and the western half of Altadena.

“Alex’s vision for the future of Pasadena City College is impressive.

He has demonstrated excellent leadership skills through various
community organizations and committees. ANCA Pasadena is encouraging
residents living in Area 1 (City of La Canada Flintridge, the Linda
Vista and San Rafael neighborhoods of West Pasadena and the Western
portion of Altadena) to vote for Alex.” Shoghig Yepremian, Chairperson
– ANCA Pasadena Chapter.

The election is set to take place on November 5, 2013.

A GLOWING 55TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FOR THE ARS ANAHID CHAPTER

A Glowing 55th Anniversary Celebration for the ARS Anahid Chapter
Thursday, September 26th, 2013

Members of the ARS Anahid Chapter

ENCINO, Calif.-With 300 members and supporters in attendance, the
Armenian Relief Society (ARS) of Western USA’s Anahid Chapter, the
largest of the 27 chapters and one of the backbones of the Regional
Executive, celebrated its 55th anniversary on September 14, 2013, at
the Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School’s Avedissian Hall in Encino,
California.

Following the singing of the national and ARS anthems by Heghine
Harboyan, who was accompanied by Armen Aharonian on the piano,
mistress of ceremonies Arousyak Melkonian invited the Holy Martyrs
parish priest, Rev. Fr. Razmig Khachadourian, to bless the tables. Der
Razmig noted that the chapter is the pride of the community, since
the early days, when it helped the establishment of the San Fernando
Valley community spiritual and educational structures, Holy Martyrs
Church and Ferrahian School.

During her welcoming remarks, Arousyak Melkonian, who chaired the
organizing committee, noted the presence of ARS Central Executive
Board member Annie Kechichian, ARS Regional Executives headed by
chairperson Lena Bozoyan, Prelacy Executive Council chairperson Rima
Boghossian, Holy Martyrs Board of Trustees Chairman Zeron Titizian,
and representatives of the local community organizations: ARF Rosdom
and Arshavir Shiragian committees, and Hamazkayin Barouyr Sevag and
Homenetmen Masis Chapters. Melkonian thanked everyone for their
support of the ARS Anahid Chapter’s humanitarian role in service
of the persevering Armenian people, advancing Armenia and inspiring
new generations.

ARS Anahid Chapter Executive Chairperson Silva Poladian provided a
brief overview of the history and accomplishments of the chapter,
which included other than establishing its own Saturday School in
Encino, but also that of the current ARS Sepan Chapter’s Saturday
School and the Chapter itself in Glendale. Poladian noted the ongoing
scholarships to Ferrahian High School students, awards to public high
school graduates, funding for the Holy Martyrs ARS Ashkhen Pilavjian
Preschool, ARS Sosse Kindergartens in Artsakh, ARS Mother and Child
Clinic and Birthing Center in Akhourian, ARS Javakhk Fund and ARS
regional programs, including social and counseling services. She
noted that 30 new members joined the chapter in 2010 and the 60th
anniversary of Anna Nshanian’s musical career was celebrated in 2012.

Poladian honored the memory of the ARS founding members and thanked
the Armenian people for funding and motivating the members to pursue
the accomplishment of all the programs.

ARS-WUSA Regional Executive’s message was delivered by chairperson
Lena Bozoyan, who congratulated the chapter’s 55th anniversary and
affirmed that the Anahid chapter has been and continues to be the
backbone of the Regional Executive. Bozoyan added that the chapter’s
Saturday School teachers continue to pass on the Armenian language and
culture to the new generation, and hoped that these students will take
on leadership positions in the community. She noted that the region
is being faced by many challenges, such as the struggling economy, the
daily struggle for survival of the Armenians in Syria, and the upcoming
centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Bozoyan hoped that the chapter
would continue to flourish with a technologically advanced generation,
leading the region to new heights, serving for the betterment of
Armenia and the Armenian people. She handed a commemorative plaque
to the Chapter Executive chairperson Silva Poladian.

The program continued with the Hamazkayin Niari Dance Group’s
performance of two dances. Seventy members and supporters participated
in candle lighting. Poladian was joined with the other members of
organizing committee, as well as Annie Kechichian, Lena Bozoyan
and Khatoun Shakarian as she cut the cake, then the Dark Eyes Band
enchanted the audience with familiar melodies making this a night
to remember.

TEACHER ON TRIAL FOR MANSLAUGHTER AFTER PUPIL ‘HANGED HIMSELF IN CORRIDOR’

The Times, UK
September 24, 2013 Tuesday 5:08 PM GMT

by Adam Sage, Paris

An 11-year-old boy hanged himself on a coat hook after being ordered
out of his classroom and left for 45 minutes in a primary school
corridor, a French court was told today.

Agnès Maulard-Lelong, 42, his teacher, denied charges of manslaughter
and endangering life as she went on trial over the death of Khoren
Grimaldi.

However, she told Tarascon Criminal Court in the South of France that
she felt “morally responsible” for what had happened in May 2011.

The court was told that Mrs Maulard-Lelong, a teacher in the Anne Frank
school in Arles, Provence, had told the boy to leave the classroom
when he refused to do a grammar exercise.

“In class, pupils work,” she said, according to evidence given
in court.

“You don’t want to work so go in the corridor with the coats, which
don’t work.”

Three quarters of an hour later, the boy was found unconscious, hanging
from a coat hook by his T-shirt, the court was told. School staff
were unable to revive him and he died in hospital three days later.

Laure Grimaldi, Khoren’s mother, said that her son had taken the
teacher at her word as a joke in an attempt to “wriggle out of the
punishment”.

However, she said that Mrs Maulard-Lelong had failed in her duty to
keep an eye on Khoren – a name of Armenian origin that means Little
Sun – while he was in the corridor.

Mrs Grimaldi and Nicolas, her husband, brought a private prosecution
to prevent such an event from happening again, their lawyer, Maître
Louis Sayn-Urpar, told the court.

He said: “Mrs Maulard-Lelong could not see Khoren and that is what
made the accident possible.”

Mr Sayn-Urpar said that when other teachers in the school ordered
pupils out of the classroom, they told them to sit opposite the door
to remain visible.

“If Mrs Maulard-Lelong had acted in the same way, Khoren would be
with us today,” he said.

The court was also told that school regulations allowed teachers to
inflict a “momentary period of isolation” on turbulent pupils.

Mr Sayn-Urpar said that the 45 minutes Khoren spent in the corridor
were “unusually long” and “do not correspond to the regulations.” The
court was told that Khoren had asked to be let back into the classroom
after half an hour. Mrs Maulard-Lelong had told him: “I don’t want
to see you any more.”

The teacher denied that Khoren had been left on his own, saying:
“Pupils went out to talk to him.” She said she had kept her job
in the school and had the support of her colleagues and the local
education authority.

Vincent Mick, the prosecutor, called for Mrs Maulard-Lelong to be
found not guilty, saying there was no case to answer.

She had committed a professional mistake, but not a crime in the eyes
of the law, he said.

The teacher faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a
five of (EURO)75,000 (£63,000) if found guilty.

The court will deliver its judgment on October 29.

SEE ARMENIA WITH THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW IT BEST!

TTG Middle East
September 24, 2013

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==============================We invite you to visit Armenia –
a country that offers a fascinating insight into the cultural and
historical interactions of West and East. To many Westerners the word
Armenia is evocative of the image of the land far away and long ago,
of Noah’s Ark and Biblical Mount Ararat, a very ancient civilization
and a cross road of commercial and military ties of East and West.
Armenia is often described as an outdoor museum. There are over 4000
historical monuments that have preserved here: cyclopean monuments,
pagan temples, ancient Christian churches and medieval monasteries
are scattered all around this beautiful land of mountain peaks and
fertile valleys, crystal-clear lakes and turbulent rivers.

All these natural characteristics have dictated the location of towns
and caravan routes as well as fortresses, bridges and aqueducts on
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statehood goes back to the powerful Urartu Kingdom of the 9th century
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of middle streams of the Araks and Kura Rivers.The territory of the
Republic is 29,800 sq. km. It occupies the southern part of a vast
highland area known as Armenian Upland, which is located within
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Armenian Upland is 1,800 meters above sea level.

Ancient geographers called the Armenian Upland the Roof of Asia
Minor.In the structure of mountain ridges extinct volcanoes
play an essential role. Their activity left its mark on Armenian
nature.Biblical Mount Ararat dominates the Armenian Upland. It is
isolated from the ridges and plateaus and rises above the surrounding
plains for more than 4 kilometres. The massif consists of two extinct
volcanoes – Greater Ararat (Masis), having a height of 5,165 meters,
and Little or Lesser Ararat (Sis), at 3925 meters. Their peaks are
located at a distance of 10 kilometers from each other.Ararat is
amazingly beautiful. It has attracted travellers since ancient times.

The most wonderful view of Mount Ararat is from the northern vicinity
of Yerevan – the capital of the Republic of Armenia. The Armenian
landscape is very picturesque and rich in numerous cultural monuments,
such as rock drawings, cave towns, excavations of ancient cities and
Palaeolithic settlements, remnants of the most ancient observatories
and metallurgical centres, creations of old and Medieval Armenian
masters (temples, cloisters and fortresses) and modern architectural
ensembles.Armenia is one of those rare countries that, though small
in territory, is notable for its complexity and rich diversity of its
geological structures.The people and races that have populated the
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301 as well as the invention of the Armenian alphabet in 405 gave
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of manuscripts are research works of ancient scholars on astrology,
alchemy, geography, history, medicine, poetry and musical arts.Armenia
has over 4,000 historical monuments, which cover various periods of the
countrys development from prehistoric to Hellenistic era, from early
to medieval Christian era. The stone carved crosses and cathedrals
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a continual delight throughout the arts in this magical country.See
Armenia with the people who know it best!

MAKING MISCHIEF IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The Washington Times
September 23, 2013 Monday

Putin uses Obama’s disengagement to lead a Russian czarist reprise

By Dan Burton SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

In October 2012, I sat in the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee’s hearing on the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on
the U.S. compound in Benghazi, completely appalled by the Obama
administration’s mishandling of the entire debacle.

To someone like me who served for more than 30 years on the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, the hours of political theater, partisan
crosstalk and bureaucratic flackery on display at that hearing proved
to me that the tragic event was the direct result of the weak and
misguided policies of an administration completely out of touch with
the realities of an unpredictable and violent world.

I warned my colleagues at the time that President Obama and his
advisers have a dangerous obsession with viewing the world as Mr.

Obama wants it to be, instead of how it really is, and that if this
continued, the results for the United States would be disastrous. The
recent bungling of the chemical weapons crisis in Syria just reinforces
my conviction. Although no Americans have died in the Syrian conflict,
American influence and prestige have suffered a terrible blow. Our
enemies are emboldened, and our allies are no longer confident that
they can count on the United States to say what it means and mean
what it says.

The president is fond of pointing out to the American people a
so-called “teachable moment.” I hope he is paying attention because
he just got schooled by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Putin
has a plan to rebuild the glory and influence of mother Russia, and he
just proved to the world that he will use whatever means and tactics
he deems fit to accomplish that goal, including protecting unsavory
regimes in places such as Syria and Iran. It’s time to face the facts:
Russia is not our ally; it is our competitor.

Human nature abhors a power vacuum. If we cede our place on the global
stage, the Russians will gladly take it. Rather than shrink from the
fight, we should learn our lesson and face this competition head-on.

Despite what Mr. Putin thinks, America is exceptional, and when we put
our mind to something, there is nothing we cannot do, and no one in
the world who can stop us. Everywhere that Russia and her satellites
are spreading their mischief, from the Caspian Sea to the Persian
Gulf to the republics of the Caucasus, we must stand fast with our
allies and counter Russia’s meddling. A case in point is U.S. ally
and friend Bahrain, which Iran is trying to destabilize with the help
and support of Russia.

The logical place to start is reversing the slide of U.S. influence
in the Caucasus by increasing engagement with Azerbaijan, which is
the only country in the world directly bordering both Russia and Iran.

Azerbaijan is a valuable and tested ally of the United States,
and we must cement that relationship. From counterterrorism and
nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction to serving as a
stabilizing force in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan is among America’s best
friends. However, squeezed between the neo-imperialist ambitions of
Moscow and the theocratic proliferation of Iran, even this staunch
friend could buckle under pressure and be turned away from the West
if we continue to pull away.

Appointing a new high-level negotiator to help resolve the conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh and thereby normalize Azerbaijan-Armenian
relations is the perfect way to demonstrate America’s commitment to
the region. Ending this conflict would be good for Armenia, good for
Azerbaijan, and it would remove a tool that the Russians and Iranians
have been using to exert influence over the region and its vast oil
and natural-gas reserves.

We can still engage with Russia, and when our mutual interests
coincide, we may even be able to work together, but we must stop being
naive about Russia’s intentions and tactics. The president must come
down from his ivory tower and stop viewing the world as a college
textbook. It’s not. America suffered a body blow in Syria, but we can
get up, dust ourselves off and ultimately prevail. The alternative is
to risk surrendering global leadership to Russia and Middle Eastern
control to a country such as Iran. That would be disastrous, and I’m
sure our children and grandchildren will not forgive us for leaving
them that kind of world.

Former Rep. Dan Burton, Indiana Republican, was a senior member
of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and chairman of its Europe,
Eurasia and emerging threats subcommittee.