Putin Offers to Base U.S. Missile Shield in Azerbaijan

Bush and Putin are having a bit of a riff. The main point of contention is a U.S. anti-missile program that envisions a radar screen in the Czech Republic to detect incoming rockets and 10 interceptors based in Poland to shoot them down.

Unhappy about NATO's expansion to Russia's border, the Kremlin is suspicious about the U.S. putting rockets in former Soviet republics.Putin's counterproposal would use an aging radar installation at Gabala in northern Azerbaijan, a central Asian country bordering the Caspian Sea, to watch for missile threats. Apparently, President Ilhim Aliev is agreeable to this. No surprise.

Azerbaijan has exchanged opinions on missile defense in talks with Russia and the United States, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the issue with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov during an official visit to Baku last week, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said, according to Russia's RIA-Novosti news agency.

Rasim Musabeyov, an independent political analyst in Azerbaijan, said U.S. involvement would anger Iran and strain Azerbaijan's relations with Tehran, but added that support from Washington and Moscow could counterbalance that effect.

So, Azerbaijan is in the precarious positiion of trying to please everyone. This tiny country, with so, so much oil and natural resources continually walks on eggshells so they can keep the West convniced that they are an ally, and try to keep Russia on their side as well.

Meanwhile, the people of Azerbaijan may never reap the benefits of all that oil...all that natural resource. The government will continue to do what is best for the government, with little regard for the people. By the way, the people of this country are so very gracious, and they are survivors. In their eyes you can see pride, and determination. Regardless of how the goverment continuees to misbehave, they will rise above it.