The War on Armenia Threatens American Interests


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Islamist aggression and expansion into the lands of a Christian people shouldn't be a 21st century reality, but it is. Making matters worse, the aggressors in today's conflict receive U.S. foreign aid. It's time for the U.S. to respond to Azerbaijan and Turkey's assault on Armenians.

Hundreds of people, including civilians, have been killed as the second week of heavy clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan potentially turns into a third. The war is over disputed territory widely called the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, but known as the Republic of Artsakh to its Armenian defenders.

The Republic of Artsakh is almost totally Armenian, about 99 percent. Part of the oldest Christian state in the world, it remains a front line against encroaching Islamism. A war over the land has been officially ongoing since the fall of the Soviet Union, but a 1994 ceasefire deal maintained a relative standstill until major escalations from Azerbaijan on September 27. Thomas de Waal, an expert on the region, has identified Azerbaijan as the aggressor in this most recent flare up.

Armenia has also called out Turkey, a strategic NATO partner for the U.S., for leading much of the onslaught. Turkey's reported actions are consistent with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's effort to build a neo-Ottoman empire, leading offenses against Kurds in their territories as well as Greeks in the Aegean and Cyprus.

Turkey is reportedly aiding Azerbaijan's assault with armed drones and by recruiting the same Syrian "moderate rebels" that former president Barack Obama employed to take down the Syrian government. As those hired fighters failed their mission to topple Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, they are in desperate need for a paid opportunity to prove themselves.

Think of it. Those "moderate rebel" Islamists who received U.S. weaponry just a few short years ago are now involved in the violent takeover of a Christian community of more than 150,000 people.

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean the U.S. government or military should be called upon to clean up the mess. There's a good chance direct intervention would only make things worse.

However, an America First geopolitical outlook must never underestimate the United States' immense economic power, including the ability to impose trade sanctions, to punish or ward off bad behavior in the South Caucasus as well as from Turkey.

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