Armenian Military News‏

Is Armenia Ready for the Second Artsakh War with Azerbaijan?
By Appo Jabarian
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine

Recently, Azerbaijan has intensified its anti-Armenian propaganda

threatening to ignite a new war with Armenia over Artsakh (Nagorno

Karabagh).

A recent Google search on "Azerbaijan Threatens War," revealed

over 182,000 results in the form of news items and articles on the

internet. A second search with the key words "Aliyev Threatens War"

brought to the surface over 90,700 e-references.

The first war between Artsakh Armenians and Azerbaijan started in

1988 with initial skirmishes and escalated into a full-blown war in 1991

and ended in 1994 with a resounding Armenian military victory.

The current Azeri dictator, President Ilham Aliyev is eager to show

results on Artsakh-related negotiations in order to help perpetuate his

illegitimate presidency.

One of the main objectives of this renewed psychological war is to

coerce Armenians of Artsakh to give up their legitimate rights to self-

determination and to "voluntarily" submit the now-liberated Armenian

territories back to Azeri occupation.

There is no question that the best way for Armenians to avert war is to

be ready for war.

One lucid question can help us clarify whether the Armenian side is

ready for war: "How ready are Armenia, Artsakh and Armenians?"

When the new Baku adventure starts, we should be ready and united

in purpose, but I don't see it - I hope I'm wrong in this, but I can't see any

signs of consciousness of the peril - AND THE OPPORTUNITIES - that

we should be absolutely ready for, recently noted a concerned Armenian.

Both Artsakh and Armenia can be exposed to danger if collectively we

do not take Azeri threats seriously. Any kind of vulnerability can spell

trouble and can cause irretrievable damage to the Armenian statehood.

Fueling this imminent danger is the misconception among certain

confused officials in Yerevan that "pacifying" Turkey by gifting them

Artsakh and Western Armenia will save the current Armenian state.

One can clearly see the existence of that perverse mentality behind their

football and protocol "diplomacy."

Are the Armenian Army and its high command less naive than the country's

political leadership? And are they more prepared?

Do they know that no matter how many concessions we make, Turkey will

not tolerate Armenia and Artsakh to become economically and politically

viable states?
Are they aware that denialist Turkey is only interested in reducing the

current Armenian states into a single Turkish satrapy?

The concerned Armenian wrote: "In such a scenario, fortress Artsakh,

with or without its people, of course, cannot exist. And without Artsakh,

Armenia's south is as good as gone and you are left with Yerevan and its

surroundings, an ideal (Pan-Armenian Movement) H.H.Sh.-style 'business'

arena -- an Armenian community permanently held hostage to Turkic whims;

actually not 'permanently' as it will be finished off within a generation or two

through assimilation or further migration under pressure, if not through

Hamidian or Young Turk genocidal belly dancing."

On April 24, 2010, denialist Turks "celebrated" the genocide of 1.5 million

Armenians in front of the Turkish Embassy in Washington, DC. According

to Turkish news reports, Turkey's Ambassador Namik Tan welcomed the

jubilant crowd into the Embassy following the two hour gathering. On the

one hand, official Yerevan should not shy away from confronting the danger

to being neighbors with an unrepentant Turkey; and on the other hand, as

an effective deterrent to new acts of genocide, it's absolutely crucial that on

May 18, the French Senate adopts the law penalizing the denial of the

Armenian Genocide and the international community follows suit.

Present day Armenia can not be viable in the long term without at least

Nakhitchevan and its rail and road links to Iran. In fact, Azerbaijan and

Turkey will never reconcile themselves with the existence of an Armenian

state as long as we are not at least conscious of this strategic truth or taking

any steps to address this threat head-on. The consequences of 1921 must

be remedied before we can tackle those of 1915 and 1895, wrote the

pro-Armenia activist.

Back in 1921, the infamous Soviet dictator Josef Stalin carved Artsakh and

Nakhitchevan out of then newly Sovietized Armenian Republic and arbitrarily

"awarded" to the then newly-created Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan.
Both Artsakh and Nakhitchevan effectively underwent the process of

Stalinization. The indigenous Armenian populations were politically and

economically harassed by the Baku-based Soviet authorities in order to

gradually drive them out. The Azeris were totally successful in depopulating

Nakhitchevan, but they failed in Artsakh.

"Instead of considering a ruinous 'land for peace deal' (Aghdam, Fizuli, and

other lowlands of Artsakh) which will only whet the Turkish appetite for the

next stage of destroying Armenia, we must be ready to inflict such huge

territorial losses on Azerbaijan on the eastern front in the coming war that it will

be prepared to cede Nakhitchevan in exchange for ceasefire by, and peace

with Armenia, and say a final 'good bye' to the idea of having any borders with

its 'big brother' Turkey, and reconcile itself, if it doesn't fall apart altogether,

to being a small state on the Caspian shores beyond Kur river and under

Armenian, Russian and Iranian domination," he elaborated.

"That's when Armenia will gain strategic depth and weight in the eyes of the

world - Russia, U.S., China and Europe in the first place. And that's the only

time when Ankara might consider sitting down with the Armenian people as

an equal and to seriously negotiate with us and make amends for Armenian

Genocide by returning the forcibly occupied Armenian lands; by making

restitution for the real and personal properties. ... In the coming war, the key

to Armenia's survival lies in, No Compromise with the Turks, and in No Handing

over of any Armenian territory to the Turks. We must do the opposite. We must

be ready to defend and extend Armenia's borders to Kur river in the east, and

Arax river in the southeast, and in the southwest through the liberation of

Nakhitchevan with its strategic rail and road networks which will place us in a

good position to take the next step for the liberation of Western Armenia," he

concluded.

But here is the burning question: Can the Armenian people convince the

oligarchs in Yerevan with their essentially HHSh-style thinking and ideology to

act in the best interests of their people? Will they somehow get enlightened

enough to abstain from plundering their own poverty-stricken people with a

get-rich-quick mentality?

If they don't, their misdeeds will ruin Armenia. Their insatiable appetite and

greed for more illegal riches will continue to strangulate Armenia, and by

extension, the Diaspora.

As for the Armenian defense forces, there is no question that they will certainly

emulate the 1991-1994 generation of freedom fighters who were armed by

something much more than any sophisticated war machine - a strong conviction

that they are and will be fighting for the liberation of ancestral soil. Whereas,

the Azeris will be fighting - or refuse to fight for the occupation of lands that

belong to the indigenous Armenians.

Whether Armenians like it or not, they are facing a new kind of multi-front

Sardarapat war.

RFE/RL Report

Karabakh Army Chief Dismisses Azeri War Threats
Nagorno-Karabakh -- Lieutenant General Movses Hakobian,
commande-in-chief of Karabakh Defense Army, undated.
12.05.2010
Lusine Musayelian

Nagorno-Karabakh's top military commander on Wednesday brushed aside
Azerbaijan's continuing threats to win back the disputed region by
force and said his forces have received new weaponry in recent months.

Lieutenant-General Movses Hakobian issued the warning on the 16th
anniversary of the signing of a Russian-mediated ceasefire agreement
that the stopped the Armenian-Azerbaijani war. The truce, which has
largely held since then, left Armenian forces in control of virtually
all of Karabakh and surrounding lands in Azerbaijan proper.

Hakobian said the Azerbaijani war rhetoric is mainly directed at the
domestic public for political purposes. He claimed that Baku will
suffer a crushing defeat if it attempts to resolve the conflict by
force.

`The war's resumption would be unfavorable only for Azerbaijan,'
Hakobian told an improvised news conference held on Karabakh army
positions east of the Armenian-controlled enclave. `It would be
favorable for us because we manage to easily achieve our objectives.'

`And I think in that case we would solve the Karabakh-Azerbaijani
conflict once and for all,' added the general, who played a prominent
role in the 1991-1994 war.

The self-confident remarks echoed statements repeatedly made by
Armenia's leaders. President Serzh Sarkisian said earlier this year
that an Azerbaijani assault on Armenia and Karabakh would trigger
`serious counterattacks.' Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian similarly
stated in January that Armenian forces have significantly beefed up
defense fortifications around Karabakh in recent years and are
prepared for renewed fighting.

Hakobian told journalists that the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic's Defense Army has received new military hardware and
ammunition this year. `This year, we have had quite a serious success
in acquiring air-defense systems,' he said. `We have also acquired new
weapons and military hardware.

`That process will be continuous ... We are also trying to change the
fleet of army vehicles,' he added without elaboration.

Colonel-General Mikael Harutiunian, Armenia's chief military inspector
and former defense minister, has been in Karabakh for the past several
days, visiting frontline positions and examining troops stationed
there. `The Karabakh army is combat-ready,' Harutiunian told
journalists in Stepanakert on Wednesday.

Azerbaijani leaders have for years been warning that they will try the
military option if the long-running Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations
yield no settlement acceptable to Baku. Defense Minister Safar Abiyev
spoke in late February of the growing likelihood of `a great war' with
Armenia.

TURKEY CONTINUES ARMING AZERBAIJAN
PanARMENIAN.Net
May 13, 2010 - 14:52 AMT 09:52 GMT

Turkish military assistance to Azerbaijan has exceeded $200 million,
Turkish Defense Minister said

"Our defense cooperation with Azerbaijan was established when
Azerbaijan declared independence and continues up to now," Vecdi
Gonul said. "Besides, Azeri soldiers have been training in Turkish
facilities and military schools for years."

For his part, Azerbaijan's Minister of Defense Industry Yaver Jamalov
said that his country is planning implementation of a number of joint
projects on small arms production, the Azeri Press Agency reported.


AGGRESSIVE POLICY OF NOMADS KEY FACTOR OF THE

AZERBAIJANI ARMY DEFEAT IN THE KARABAKH WAR
PanARMENIAN.Net
May 13, 2010

Only the UN has the right to speak of an "aggressor state", rather
than the politicians in Baku who did not find anything better than
to complain about the whole world.

No matter what the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the interested
parties say about settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, we must
admit that the process is frozen, if not permanently, then at least
for the following five years. The point is not the willingness or
unwillingness to regulate the conflict, i.e. determine the status of
Nagorno-Karabakh, but the growing uncertainty of Baku. No statements
calculated for the Azerbaijani or the Armenian audience produced the
effect they were intended to.

May 7, 2010 PanARMENIAN.Net -

The "boogeyman stories" circulated in the Azeri media about the power
and determination of the Azerbaijani army remained "unapprehended"
by the Armenian side. Celebrating this year the 18th anniversary of
liberation of Shoushi, Armenian people once again reminded Baku about
the old truth: war is a matter of skill and not quantity. And skill
is exactly what the Azerbaijani army lacks. You may buy the most
modern weapons, call up all the fighting population of the country,
but still lose, because it is necessary to learn to properly shoot
even from a gun and go into the battle with confidence that you are
defending for your homeland. Azerbaijan has neither the first nor the
second. But when the remaining sober heads in the neighboring republic
say that the key factor of the Azerbaijani army defeat was that the
army fought a war of aggression, they are declared to be enemies and
traitors. In the second Karabakh war, if it ever starts, Azerbaijan
will not be able to attract any mercenaries: Chechen commanders are
busy with their own survival, the notion of "Islamic solidarity" is not
applied for the neighboring republic, which, by the way, has aroused
the complaint of Baku politicians. Complaints are mainly directed to
the member-states of Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC),
which not only "do not support the just demands of Azerbaijan and do
not condemn the aggressor", but also make friends with the latter. In
this regard it must be reminded that the term "aggressor" can be used
only by the United Nations Organization. Only the UN has the right to
speak of an "aggressor state", rather than the politicians in Baku who
did not find anything better than to complain about the whole world.

Reverting to the issue of mercenaries, let us note that now it will be
harder to attract women-snipers their folks know quite well how they
paid for the dead Armenians. Not to mention the Ukrainian "volunteer"
pilots... However, Safar Abiyev assures that the Azerbaijani army
itself will cope with the "occupants". But it's his business, however.

Blessed are those who believe.

And now floods of tears and lamentations will be poured by May 9,
and Akif Nagi will go on his next tour to Karabakh. The other day the
board meeting of the Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) decided to
celebrate May 8 as the "Day of hatred towards invaders". According to
the decision, along with other activities there are to be organized
visits to Martyrs' Alley in Baku and its regions, burning of the
Armenian flag and photographs of her leaders, etc. KLO considers that
expressing particular hatred towards the occupiers on this day is
appropriate due to the fact that Shoushi "is the symbol of Karabakh
and one of the oldest and richest places of Azerbaijani culture". It
would be funny if it were not so sad. Azeri military experts who lost
the war will say that the Armenians do not know how to fight, that
they achieved victory by Russian assistance, and other such childish
prattle. But actually in the operation "Wedding in the mountains"
two and a half thousand soldiers were involved from the Azerbaijani
side and approximately the same number from Armenia. About 100 people
were killed from the Armenian side, while Azerbaijan lost about 700.

At the time of assault, military commander of Shoushi was Elbrus
Orujev, while the operation was planned and put into practice by
Arkadi Ter-Tadevosyan (Commandos) from the Armenian side. The storm
began at 2:30, on 8 May. A large military contingent was present on
the open road to the west of Shoushi. The soldiers were ordered not
to shoot at people fleeing from the city, but block the access to the
city for reinforcement. In the evening the Azeri army thought they
had repulsed the attack of Armenians. It was then that most of the
soldiers ran off and Orujev did not have enough people to continue
the fight. He gave an order to retreat. Among those who left Shoushi
last was Chechen fighter Samil Basayev.

It was with the liberation of Shoushi that the NKR Defense Army was
formed, which is one of the most mobile and capable armies in the
region today. And no matter our neighboring republic likes it or not,
such is the reality.