Israeli-Azerbaijani Alliance Heightening The Risks Of Strike On Iran, Officials Say

In 2009, the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Baku, Donald Lu, sent a cable to the State Department's headquarters in Foggy Bottom titled "Azerbaijan's discreet symbiosis with Israel." The memo, later released by WikiLeaks, quotes Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev as describing his country's relationship with the Jewish state as an iceberg: "nine-tenths of it is below the surface."

Read the whole story at Foreign Policy

Comments

[shewolf2002]

11:37 AM on 04/20/2012

This is just to distract us from the real Israeli staging ground: the US Congress.

[audioenhanced]

01:06 AM on 04/10/2012

This Israeli government is just nuts. They start the nuclear bomb scare to the point where Iran proves there is no nuclear bomb, then to find out they had already knew Iran had no such bomb, then we find out they want to pursue the sanctions, and yet who is the instigator of everything, Its time to start sanctioning Israel and strong, they want another world war 3 and unless something is done it looks as though she may get it!!

[Json]

01:21 PM on 04/02/2012

Is the info even true? Unclear. (Azeris deny it)
Is this story a deliberate leak by the US administration? Unclear
Did Obama leak this to undermine Israel? No way to know
Did Obama leak this to put additional pressure on Iran? No way to know.

Reading the comments is like reading the results of a Rorschach test. Everyone sees what they want to see.

[arachne646]

02:23 PM on 06/07/2012

None of the three leaked the 2009 wires about Azeris having the "iceberg" relationship with Israel (9/10th below the surface). So, would either of the conspirators admit an airbase arrangement was going on?

[Lloyd Cata]

07:13 AM on 04/01/2012

Next thing you know these wing-nuts will be saying Obama and Assange are in cahoots to destroy Israel. Oh, oohh....maybe it's a Obama-Manning-Assange conspiracy!

The fact is that the only conspiracy is the ridiculous arrangement between the ZIONISTS in Israel and the RIGHT-WING evangelical ditto-heads in the US.

You see, WAR IS CHEAP...when its not your blood and treasure! Israel cannot defeat Iran except by nuclear demolitions. That would condemn every Jew on the planet(same thing for Iran and Muslims). Neither party would survive 'first-use'....and that is why nuclear weapons are "defensive weapons". Thus Israel cannot stop Iran from producing nuclear weapons - PERIOD! Will 'Israel join the USA as the 'only' nations to use nuclear weapons?

Yeah, I get it, "they are both doing God's Work".(Judaism is not Zionism, and no Christian is subject to the dictates of a Zionist)

[BruceMar]

11:06 AM on 03/31/2012

Why does the Obama administration keep leaking Israel's plans? Are these leaks the act of a friendly administration to Israel? This continued sabotaging of Israeli military plans by Barack
Obama tells us two things. Firstly Obama IS NOT a friend of Israel and secondly his re-election
takes presedence over everything including an Iranian Nuclear Holocaust against Israel.
There is no other way these leaks can be expalined.

[Solomon420]

12:41 PM on 04/01/2012

seems like he's throwing the Iranians some carrots on Israel behalf ...lets see where it all leads .

I hope that the american administration understand that if Iran acquire the Bomb, turkey and Saudi Arabia will be next and who knows who else?

[audioenhanced]

10:31 AM on 04/10/2012

Iran has no intention of the bomb, some other nations that are already nuclear equipped know this as well, it is the nations that already have the nuclear weapons and refuse inspection we should worry about because obviously they DO have something to hide
It's good to finally see somebody stand up to the Israeli lobby, hopefully he won't be the last and a democratic world can re-emerge

[SamSeven]

01:45 PM on 06/07/2012

Mr. Mar is all for WW3 since he believes Obama is ruining Israeli strike plans.

[Seawolf56]

10:11 AM on 03/31/2012

I just sent Barry a contribution for showing courage!
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/o2012-obama-biden-navy-shirt

[Ric NYC]

05:17 PM on 03/30/2012

Israeli-AZERBAIJANI alliance. WOW...

"ROFL"

[Ric NYC]

05:07 PM on 03/30/2012

Corruption Perception Index 2011 (Transparency International)

Azerbaijan

143 among 183 countries.

"This year Azerbaijan obtained a score of 2.4 which is the same as the last year (on a scale from 10 -very clean to 0 -very corrupt) and was ranked 143-d among 183 countries surveyed in 2011".

http://www.transparency.az/print.php?news.49

;)

[austinreid]

01:04 PM on 04/08/2012

Israel got a 6.9 much higher then the Middle East adverag.

[edenooch]

02:36 PM on 03/30/2012

israel is a dangerous nuclear power.. they need to be disarmed. they have they fingers on a trigger....its all post holocaust fears

[pomegrante]

06:03 PM on 03/30/2012

".its all post holocaust fears....."

Yep, otherwise known as: EXTREME PARANOIA...

[audioenhanced]

01:17 AM on 04/10/2012

Paranoia is when a nation is sitting at home in their own nation minding there business like Iran is doing, and Israel accusing them of having a nuclear bomb to get the world worried, when Israel already know that isn't the case
Reality is knowing of a nation who is constantly wanting war, instigating wars and preparing for wars, unlike the nations it is accusing, who are doing nothing of the sort. On top of all of this who is the nuclear threat? Iran....hardly, Israel.....I certainly wouldn't bet much against it.

[Solomon420]

12:43 PM on 04/01/2012

in a recent pole in turkey a majority of people were of the opinion that if Iran gets the Bomb they also need one , funny that they don't feel this way toward Israel .

[Trollstein]

02:19 PM on 03/30/2012

Former UN Ambassador John Bolton today asserted that the Obama Admin. leaked these details to thwart an Israeli military action on Iran's weapons production.
If this is true, it adds a dimension to the old but often recounted USS Liberty story. The Liberty was an intel ship. One of the various rumors is that Israel was left with no alternative except to sink it because it was passing secret Israeli military data to the British, who were forwarding it to Jordan and then, from Jordan to Egypt. I find that story as likely as any other, including the commonly accepted "mistaken identity" concept. I find both stories far more credible and likely then the one we often hear on HP, namely, that Israel did this for no other reason except to hurt the USA.

[Taxim]

03:05 PM on 03/30/2012

No one needed to "leak" anything. You just need to read beyond your grade level sometimes.

[Trollstein]

03:32 PM on 03/30/2012

You again? You know, you are about the last person who is disparaging me personally. There were fomerly a few but they have calmed down, or left me alone. You know what that means?

[-Red-Pill]

03:44 PM on 03/30/2012

John Bolton is a neocon tool

[Trollstein]

05:38 PM on 03/30/2012

I am not sure what a neocon precisely is but I will accept that he is one. He might be more of a leader then a follower.

[Seawolf56]

10:29 AM on 03/30/2012

This is going to put AIPAC on attack mode! Control we must regain control!!
Dear world leaders please see that the Obama administration is trying to stop war and the control of American foriegn policy!!

[Vlady]

12:06 PM on 03/30/2012

You greatly excel in the art of b.s.

[anton123]

12:33 PM on 03/30/2012

Too much smoke or drinks on the morning? ;-)
You know - it's not weekend yet...:-)

[Seawolf56]

10:21 AM on 03/30/2012

Obama just got my vote!! If he knew about this leak (and he did) this shows the world and America that he does not want Israel to attack Iran!! Better than that it also shows Israel and the world that the USA is NO great Ally of Israel and Israel needs to cut all ties with the USA!! Good for Obama and good for the White House!!

[Taxim]

04:16 AM on 03/30/2012

There is nothing particularly new or secret about the Israeli-Azerbaijani relationship. Like every fascist despotic nation they turn to Israel for weapons. Israel will and does sell any weapon to anyone with some cash. But even the most delusional Israeli politician knows they will never allow any access to Israeli military. There is also the rather inconvenient fact that getting there would require some serious mileage as no one in the region allows Israeli to fly over anymore.

"Azerbaijan yesterday denied allegations made by a U.S. magazine that it had granted Israel access to its air bases which could assist in potential strikes against its neighbor Iran.

Citing anonymous senior U.S. diplomats and military intelligence officers, the article published in Foreign Policy magazine on March 28 suggested that cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel was “heightening the risks of an Israeli strike on Iran.”

The article suggested that access to Azerbaijani airfields near the Iranian border could give Israeli fighter planes logistical advantages in carrying out sorties against nuclear facilities in Iran."

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/baku-denies-granting-israel-air-base-access.aspx?pageID=238&nID=17258&NewsCatID=359

[anton123]

01:13 PM on 03/30/2012

"Like every fascist despotic nation they turn to Israel for weapons. Israel will and does sell any weapon to anyone with some cash"
Completely untrue. Doesn't fit you Taxim...
Israel sells its weapons pretty much the same way US or Russia do. It doesn't sell it to regimes or warlords that UN or other organization put embargo on.
No need for extra dramatization. ME is already pretty dramatic as it is.

[Taxim]

02:10 PM on 03/30/2012

Israeli arms merchants, almost certainly with the approval of their government, regularly violated the U.N. embargo on arms sales to South Africa for almost a decade before the government called a halt to the traffic last month, the State Department reported Thursday.

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-04-03/news/mn-2455_1_south-africa

A statement from the Israeli defence ministry said arms exports to China were being clarified with US officials in what it called a good spirit.

The statement followed Israeli reports that the sale of a sensitive weapons system to China had angered Washington.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4101961.stm

From 1975 to 1979, 83% of El Salvador's military imports came from Israel, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The list of countries Israel has supplied, trained and advised includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.

[audioenhanced]

06:24 AM on 04/10/2012

Since when has Israel followed any of rules of the United Nations?
I'm sure Israel is still happy at your attempt to tone down what has been revealed though.
I'm just curious as to how they are going to blame Iran for Israel attacking them without just cause. Iran has already proven they have no nukes, which Israel was hoping would cause a stir, and u can bet there will be others wanting to intervene on Irans behalf if Iran does nothing to start things.

[vascopyjama]

02:26 AM on 03/30/2012

While I know that antisemitism is wrong I believe that as long as there is no peace in the Middle east it will increase, and not just in Europe. Benjamin Netanyahu has been a disaster for the Jewish state and the rest of the world. Right wing religious weirdos and Congress can proudly claim some of the blame.

[Seawolf56]

10:08 AM on 03/30/2012

well said and fanned!

[Sam Adamson]

11:08 AM on 03/30/2012

The mere fact that antisemitism preceded Netanyahu by thousands of years, and in modern time too it was prevalent regardless of who was the Israeli prime minister, shows how weak is your apologetic suggestion that justifies the condemned phenomenon.

[arachne646]

02:12 PM on 06/07/2012

There's a difference between anti-semitism and a hatred of the policies and strategies of the Israeli government. Lots of people who feel intense dislike of Israel's policies of control and settlement of occupied Palestinian territory, and the other crimes committed by the order of the Israeli government have been called anti-semites and self-hating Jews, but the feelings are political; not racist or against a people and a religion.

[largogan]

12:18 AM on 03/30/2012

Four weeks ago, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proclaimed the legal and religious justification for the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people, which included a demand that Iran take advantage of western "passiveness" to "wipe out Israel" in an attack before 2014.

The Iranian Ayatollah even specified the targets, missiles and procedures to destroy Israel in nine minutes. No misinterpretation. This wasn't loose talk either. The Ayatollah's exact words and context are available online.

[Sonic hedgehog]

01:09 AM on 03/30/2012

1. That was not four weeks ago it was in the first week of February, unless you're writing that comment from a time machine.
2. It was on website with alleged ties to ayatollah, and not written by Ayatollah himself
3. That nine minute destruction story is highly unlikely since it ignores the fact that Israel has anti-ballistic missile defense systems that will intercept most if not all of the missiles.

[A Jew with a View]

01:17 AM on 03/30/2012

Would you mind providing a link? Thanks.