In response to the New York Times article “The Two Faces of Azerbaijan’s Mr. Aliyev” one of Azerbaijan's state media outlets was quick to respond. The government outlet “Azerbaijan” published the following piece, “The Two Faces of Barack Obama” two days later. Following the country's Chief of Staff, Ramiz Mehdiyev's 60-page diatribe accusing the West and in particular the United States, this article too questions U.S. credibility and President Obama's true intentions as the leader of the world's superpower.
Below is the compilation of quotes translated from the original piece.
"In 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people. This happened only nine months after Obama was elected. US’s first Afro-American leader promised to leave behind the country’s one-sided foreign policy and instead including the US, protect the interests of other world countries. He even promised to sit at a negotiation table with Iran and close down Guantanamo prison. Many in the world praised Obama as the leader of peace and continuous stability. But as some say, only the greatest personalities realize their high ideals with their actions and work.
An article in Foreign Affairs “The end of Hypocrisy: American Foreign Policy in the Age of Leaks” by George Washington University professors Marta Finnemore and assistant professor Henri Farrell illustrate Obama Administration’s hypocritical foreign policy. The authors claim “hypocrisy – assuring others in the legitimacy of one’s actions is an important part of Washington’s “soft power” approach”. Only after Bradley Manning and Snowden revelations “Washington faced what can be described as an accelerating hypocrisy collapse -- a dramatic narrowing of the country’s room to maneuver between its stated aspirations and its sometimes sordid pursuit of self-interest.”
"The whole world saw that U.S. not only spies on the countries it views as enemies but also onits friends, high ranking officials, collecting compromising information about them. The revelations confirmed, U.S.’s secret service tapping the phones of the European Union, Council of Europe and the foreign embassies in the U.S. The revelations also showed U.S. readiness to discredit people like Dominique Strauss Kahn. These leaks seriously undermined trust and confidence of other world leaders’ towards US pretentious president. Not only didn’t he keep his promises “to protect interests of other states” but also he turned the relations of traditional partner states into a bloodbath."
US was behind the "Arab Spring" and the "EuroMaidan"
"In both cases – Mubarak and Morsi – it was US who stood behind the coups. Neither official Washington nor David Kramer’s – once high ranking official in the Department of State – Freedom House made any statements when the court in Cairo sentenced over 500 members of the Muslim Brotherhood to death."
"Information about murders and losses of human life that used to come from Iraq until recently, now come from the center of Europe – Ukraine. Once the strength and the great potential of the Soviet Union, it was the result of US and its European counterparts’ initiatives that Ukraine turned into an arena of civil confrontation today. Ukraine’s economy collapsed, social problems are on the rise, Crimea is lost, and eastern Ukraine has fallen completely into the hands of the separatist forces while official Kiev lost its control over these territories. It is hard to estimate how much time Ukraine will need to restore its balance in the system of international relations.
But the events in Ukraine illustrated yet another naked reality to the world. The phone conversation between the US State Assistant Secretary Victoria Nuland and the U.S. Ambassador to Kiev, Geoffrey R. Pyatt revealed the identity of screen writers and implementers of Maidan events".
U.S.-Azerbaijan relations resemble a mirage in the desert
"And really when we look at US-Azerbaijan relations during Obama’s presidency, there is inconsistency and a lot of confusion. During the times of Bush Senior, Clinton and then Bush Junior it was clear who was responsible for what. A promise was given and at least there were some real steps taken in order to fulfill the given promise. US support of Azerbaijan’s independence, joint energy projects, Azerbaijan’s unconditional support in U.S. fight with terrorism and other issues, all elevated the relations between the two states to a strategic partnership. Surely both sides benefited from this partnership. However with Obama coming to power, U.S. Azerbaijan priorities began to resemble a mirage in the desert. On one hand US head of state says US sees the partnership with Azerbaijan important, and that it would continue cooperating with Ilham Aliyev’s government yet on the other hand, there are no steps taken in supporting Azerbaijan."
"As if this is not enough some circles in the U.S. are anxious to implement scenarios calling for certain changes of leadership in Azerbaijan. American media and its non-governmental organizations are intensifying their “black PR” against Azerbaijan on daily basis. It is impossible to understand the reasons behind this hypocrisy and speculation."
"Thus according to some experts, during Obama’s administration terrorism threats across the world intensified, hot spots grew, civil strife increased, the economic downturn is bringing down the existing economic system (even the most developed countries are suffering from social issues), and the intercultural and cross civilization dialogues are replaced with cross nation and cross religious resistance and mutual accusations. And the worst thing about all these, is that US as the world’s largest country not only unable to solve these problems but in some cases it is the instigator in some of these tendencies.
So now experts ask, since when has the Nobel Peace Committee award people for their empty promises rather than concrete actions? Doesn’t this have a negative impact on the reputation of this award? On the other hand, what kind of award one gets for doing the opposite of what was promised?"