by Michael Rubin,
The West failed to prevent the atrocities in Ukraine by dithering in the weeks before the Russian invasion.
“Every year, politicians repeat ‘Never again.’ And now, we see that these words are simply worthless.”
Just over 18 months ago, Nagorno-Karabakh exploded into war. Azerbaijan, backed by Turkish Special Forces and equipped with Israeli drones, launched a surprise attack on the centenary of the Ottoman Turkish invasion of newly independent Armenia. Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev’s eliminationist rhetoric left little doubt that the 44-day war was motivated less by a territorial dispute and more by ethnic and religious supremacism. To underscore the point, Azeri forces systematically desecrated and destroyed centuries-old Armenian Christian sites in a territory predominantly populated by Armenians (but assigned by Josef Stalin to Azerbaijan). To support his aggression, Aliyev has said Armenians “have psychological disorders,” called them “a depraved tribe,” and compared them to dogs.
The 2020 war ended with a shaky ceasefire secured by Russian peacekeepers. In recent days, as the Kremlin withdrew many of these forces to support its languishing campaign in Ukraine, Azerbaijan has gone on the offensive, pushing into Armenian villages and targeting Armenians with drones. Minsk Group monitors have found Azerbaijan to be the aggressor, although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives Aliyev cover in the same way he once did after the International Criminal Court indicted Sudanese dictator Omar al Bashir for genocide in Darfur. Then, he dismissed criticism of his embrace of Bashir by saying “no Muslim could perpetrate a genocide.”
As Azerbaijani forces once again go on the offensive, Blinken not only responds with moral equivalence but also appears ready to finance Azerbaijan’s war machine by waiving again Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. It appears that Blinken wants to let Azerbaijan off the hook in the hope that it might assist Washington’s policies in Ukraine and Iran. This approach ignores both the letter of Section 907 and the fact that Azerbaijan, like Turkey, plays both sides of the issue.
So said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month. The images of Ukrainians, bound, beaten, and raped before their execution by retreating Russian forces in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, give his words new resonance.
U.S. politicians have affirmed his frustration. “It’s crucial to all of us who are committed to living up to the maxim of ‘Never again’ … to spot the signs the worst atrocities [so] we’re empowered to prevent them,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared at the Holocaust Museum just two weeks ago.
Virtue-signaling is a placebo, not a remedy. It’s increasingly clear that the Biden administration has not learned any lessons from its mistakes.
Just over 18 months ago, Nagorno-Karabakh exploded into war. Azerbaijan, backed by Turkish Special Forces and equipped with Israeli drones, launched a surprise attack on the centenary of the Ottoman Turkish invasion on newly independent Armenia. Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev’s eliminationist rhetoric left little doubt that the 44-day war was motivated less by territorial dispute and more by ethnic and religious supremacism. To underscore the point, Azeri forces systematically desecrated and destroyed centuries-old Armenian Christian sites in a territory predominantly populated by Armenians (but assigned by Josef Stalin to Azerbaijan). To support his aggression, Aliyev has said Armenians “have psychological disorders,” called them “a depraved tribe,” and compared them to dogs.
The 2020 war ended with a shaky ceasefire secured by Russian peacekeepers. In recent days, as the Kremlin withdrew many of these forces to support its languishing campaign in Ukraine, Azerbaijan has gone on the offensive, pushing into Armenian villages and targeting Armenians with drones. Minsk Group monitors have found Azerbaijan to be the aggressor, although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives Aliyev cover in the same way he once did after the International Criminal Court indicted Sudanese dictator Omar al Bashir for genocide in Darfur. Then, he dismissed criticism of his embrace of Bashir by saying “no Muslim could perpetrate a genocide.”
As Azerbaijani forces once again go on the offensive, Blinken not only responds with moral equivalence but also appears ready to finance Azerbaijan’s war machine by waiving again Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. It appears that Blinken wants to let Azerbaijan off the hook in the hope that it might assist Washington’s policies in Ukraine and Iran. This approach ignores both the letter of Section 907 and the fact that Azerbaijan, like Turkey, plays both sides of the issue.
In essence, the Biden administration is repeating the same mistakes it did in the run-up to Russian aggression against Ukraine: It telegraphs indecisiveness, if not impotence, in the face of an aggressor’s genocidal rhetoric and refuses to apply sanctions while they might save lives. Blinken and members of Congress might say “never again,” but increasingly, when it comes to caviar diplomacy, it appears they mean, “Well, maybe one more time.”
Michael Rubin (@mrubin1971) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.