Doctorow's Fascinating Azerbaijan Comments
First things first—Merry Christmas to all readers!
Gilbert Doctorow appeared on Judge Nap’s show today, apparently at his own request and because he believed what he had to say was very important. Here’s his own explanation:
‘Judging Freedom’ edition of 24 December: The New Sovereignty
On this day before Christmas, Judge Napolitano had a very full schedule of interviewees to compensate for his being off the air for a week starting tomorrow. Accordingly, I consider myself lucky to have been given time to review with him several of the key issues in Russian-US relations.
We spoke about the interview of Azerbaijan president Aliyev with RT released a day ago, about how Azerbaijan’s ability to remain a fast ally of both Russia and of NATO member Turkey over the course of 30 years suggests a future for Ankara in BRICS notwithstanding bad feelings in the Kremlin over Turkey’s assisting the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.
I would add that there may also be a hint here that there may have been some understanding between Turkey and Russia regarding Syria, before the event. One thing that seems certain—and we’ll get to this below—is that what Turkey now has in hand is almost certainly not what the Anglo-Zionists had in mind. If Turkey stabbed Russia in the back, as many say, I’m not sure how you would describe what Erdogan has been up to since the ouster of Assad.
Here is the transcript of Doctorow’s comments to Judge Nap, which begins around the 21:00 minute mark. What’s so fascinating about this is that Azerbaijan has long hosted an Israeli presence, both intel and military, on its border with Iran, while maintaining close ties to Russia. Just as the Turkish relationship with Israel is changing, the same may now happen with Azerbaijan:
Did you want to talk to me about Azerbaijan and its relationship to Russia Is there something there we need to know about, Professor Doctorow?
Yes, sir, for a number of reasons, but let's start with my source. A day ago the Russian State television released an hour long interview that the head of Russia Today, Dimitri [?], took with the president of Azerbaijan, Aliyev. They touched on on a variety of things. The two important points to come out of this one is that Mr Aliyev--who has been sitting on on the fence, or sitting on two chairs between East and West for a large part of his tenure as president, which began in 2003--he has clearly come down on the side of Mr Putin, because in that interview he repeated verbatim the argumentation and the language that Putin has used steadily as this Special Military Operation has gone on--that is, the importance of national sovereignty and looking after national interests and opposition to the neocolonialism of France and other European powers.
Please note the word that Doctorow uses in this next paragraph: “seems.”
The interesting thing here was, secondly, his relations with Turkey, because this answers a question that many of us had: What is Russia going to do with Turkey after what seems like a stab in the back over Syria, for their failure to follow the agreements that these countries, Russia and Turkey, had agreed with respect to Syria and its post civil war arrangements? Well, I think that, considering what Mr Aliyev said, Russia and Turkey will find an accommodation--maybe a year down the road, two years--and that finally Turkey will be invited into BRICS.
Why do I say that? Because Aliyev was explaining that, since 1992, [Azerbaijan] has had--[Aliyev’s] father signed--a cooperation agreement that included a military agreement--military defense, mutual defense pact--and that Turkey has played a very large role in modernizing the Azerbaijani military forces, provided it with equipment. We know that it was Turkish equipment and drones that enabled Azerbaijan, in one or two days, to defeat the [Armenian] forces in the Nagorno Karabakh and retake this land. So [Azerbaijan has] a close relationship in defense with Turkey: the only country that has good relations with Russia but also has a defense treaty with NATO. This rather complicated set of relations--where the man himself, Aliyev, is very sympathetic to Russia, where he got his undergraduate degree and his PhD degree, in Moscow, and where he taught for five years, and he's a perfect fluent Russian speaker--and he was sitting on the fence, and he no longer sits on the fence. He actually uses the very terminology, particularly the use of the word "national sovereignty", that Mr Putin has made the Rallying Cry of the Global South against US Global Hegemony.
All may not be as it originally “seemed.”
Now, check this out:
Turkey will try to repair Syrian railway lines to Damascus, connecting two countries to each other, and reviving parts of Hejaz railway project, says Turkish Transportation Minister
That certainly underlines official Turkish statements that Turkey will take charge of an intact Syria—statements clearly directed at Israeli encroachments toward Damascus. Israel has long maintained that Damascus will be part of Greater Israel, but Turkey is laying claim to this major Islamic city. There’s probably even more.
This tweet, as well as other news accounts, link the idea of Turkey to Damascus rail lines to the Hejaz railway project. That project was originally intended—before the demise of the Ottoman Empire following WW1—
to establish a connection between Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire and the seat of the Islamic Caliphate, and Hejaz in Arabia, the site of the holiest shrines of Islam and Mecca, the destination of the Hajj annual pilgrimage. Other objectives were to improve the economic and political integration of the distant Arabian provinces into the Ottoman state, and to facilitate the transportation of military forces.
This development is clearly intended in a symbolic sense to communicate Turkish intentions to eventually resume Turkey’s role as the center of Sunni Islam. Here’s a useful map:
I guarantee you that this is NOT what the Anglo-Zionists had in mind in ousting Assad.
Meanwhile, having failed by sea, the Anglo-Zionists are enlisting proxies by land while continuing the air campaign against Yemen:
Current Report @Currentreport1
BREAKING: UAE-Saudi Arabia in action against Houthis.
This evening, UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council launched offensive against Houthi forces in Taiz region.
In the north, Saudi Arabia has intensified artillery strikes on Houthi targets, including the city of Saada.
It’s difficult to see how the US military will take all this on while also confronting Russia and China. Trump is going to face some very tough decisions if he intends to run his own foreign policy.
I mostly lurk, but I am an avid reader of your Substack, which gives me a deeper understanding of current events and appreciation of the moving pieces.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!!
It’s not just the U.S. Military being incapable of engaging in multiple military conflicts at once. Western militaries as a whole are weak and ineffective. Most western militaries have been neglected and allowed to atrophy to the point of being mere ceremonial and ornamental outfits. Pathetic really.