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2003-06-18 Caucasus

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Posted by Bulldog 2003-06-18 04:32 pm|| || Front Page|| [10 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 I see no compelling reason to station American troops in Azerbaijan - or even in Georgia, for that matter. I can see establishing rights of passage, training of local forces to provide force protection and protection of vital installations the United States might use in an emergency, but to actually station US forces there would not make a lot of sense. There is no easy connection between anywhere and Azerbaijan, except through another country - through the Straits of Bosphorus into the Black Sea then overland through Georgia, or through Iraq and Turkey into Georgia and Azerbaijan. Neither route makes much sense.

It DOES make sense to have contingency plans to use facilities in these two countries if there's a need to deal with Iran. Both Georgia and Azerbaijan are excellent places to launch a northern assault from. At the same time, the terrain over which military forces would have to move isn't the best, especially for armored units. A much more probable scenario is that this is information taken out of context and used to attempt to manipulate the upcoming elections.

Posted by Old Patriot 2003-06-18 21:10:37|| 2003-06-18 21:10:37|| Front Page Top

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