Aohell

The Devil Went Down to Georgia

It's no secret Russia wants to see Georgia go to hell. At least it's no secret to people following Georgia. In the geopolitical game between the US and Russia in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan and Georgia are in the US orbit and Armenia bound to the Russians. Any pro-US oil and gas pipelines get routed through Azerbaijan and Georgia, deftly avoiding existing Russian pipelines and direct routes through Armenia. Russia fosters breakaway movements in Georgia, and would love to get a pro-Kremlin group in Baku. US forces and agents in the region are seeing to that the Georgian and Azeri security forces get loads of US-financed equipment and training to keep things as they are.

One thing the US can't provide, though, is a flow of natural gas. A set of recent explosions shut down the gas pipeline from Russia into Georgia. While Georgia gets plenty of oil from Azerbaijan, the natural gas pipeline from Central Asia and Azerbaijan isn't finished. Georgia, therefore, is still beholden in some way to Russia. Unlike Ukraine, Georgia doesn't sit astride a pipeline bound for strategic European customers. Russia can shaft the Georgians all it wants, up to the point it risks the ire of the US.

But with the pipelines going right through Chechnya, it's easy to blame the blasts on those damned Chechens, right? Well, Georgia pins the blame on Russia. Russia calls the Georgian claims hysterical. The Chechens aren't phoning in responsibility for the blast, so I'm thinking the Russians are probably guilty of blasting their own pipelines. It's not a ludicrous idea in the Caucasus, home of interminable, insane feuds.

In the meantime, Georgia can't wait for the US-backed pipeline bypassing Armenia to be built. Of course, that all depends upon Azerbaijan staying in the grip of Aliev the Younger, but that's for another article.