Dear Log,
«The same month that Bush and the US denounced the rigged elections in Georgia, they praised even worse-run elections in nextdoor Azerbaijan, and kept mum over the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protestors. Why? Because Azerbaijan is giving Cheney what he wants: oil. Both for his favored oil companies, his friends, and for the West.
In other words, in classic Cold War maneuvering, Aliyev is "our bastard."»
If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominos will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.