WASHINGTON—Armenian Americans nationwide were justifiably shocked to see reports on Tuesday, Sept. 12 on top U.S. news sites spotlighting Armenia as one of seven countries, including Burundi, Egypt, Kuwait, Sudan, Tunisia and Zambia, in which U.S. Embassies issued security alerts after the tragic attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya just a day earlier.
The raising of alarms in Armenia, an overwhelmingly Christian-populated nation, in response to a wave of anger in the Muslim world over offenses against the Prophet Mohammed made no apparent sense, either to Armenians or observers worldwide. Armenia has no modern history of religiously-oriented violence or anti-American demonstrations, and no ties to any of the groups leading protests in the Arab countries in which U.S. embassies have been targeted.
Since the story first broke, seeking answers and accountability, the ANCA reached out to the U.S. State Department and the AP reporter who wrote the initial article on this subject.
The ANCA was informed by Department of State sources, later confirmed publicly by State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, that on the night of Sept. 11, after the Benghazi attacks, the State Department “sent a message to every diplomatic mission in the world asking them to again review security and take the necessary measures. Some of you will have seen that there were increased emergency warnings or security warnings that were also issued to Americans in some 50-plus missions around the world since that went out.”
On Sept. 12, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia was among the first seven countries to send emergency messages to Americans travelling and residing in their respective countries. The Armenia alert called on U.S. citizens to “remain vigilant, ” in light of recent anti-American violence following recent events in Egypt and Libya. It noted, however, that “the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan has no specific information to indicate that these events will affect security in Yerevan.” The alert can be read here:
https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=12863
The Zambia alert, like Armenia, indicated no specific threat reports. Burundi was even less specific. Egypt, Kuwait, Sudan and Tunisia referenced reports of times and places of possible demonstrations.
These emergency alerts were emailed out to U.S. citizens in their respective countries, were posted on Embassy websites, and on a central State Department alert site maintained by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security:
https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReports.aspx?cid=13
The AP reporter, Matthew Lee, who broke the story, saw the list of the seven initial alerts and ran with it. He could have made the distinction that Armenia, Zambia and Burundi had no specific threat listed in their notes, while the other four did. However, he stands by his reporting that the U.S. Embassies in these seven countries acted first, perhaps believing that their specific situations were serious enough to merit posting an Emergency Alert to American citizens. He confirmed that list had been expanded to some 50 countries since then.
A number of pressing questions remain unanswered.
Why was the U.S. Embassy in Armenia, a predominantly Christian country with no record of Islamic protests, among the first countries to send out an emergency alert to U.S. citizens? Neighboring U.S. embassies in Azerbaijan and Georgia have yet to post any type of warnings either on their websites or in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security page. An alert was finally posted on the U.S. Embassy of Turkey on Sept. 15, regarding credible reports of demonstrations, with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security site posting it a day after.
The ANCA will continue to press for honest answers and governmental accountability regarding this highly sensitive matter for all Armenians.
Another sheer idiocy on the part of the Council of Foreign Relations- and Trilateral Commission-controlled State Department
There is a lot of sheer idiocy in the US government and US media.
May be US State Dept. feels that they discriminate Armenians of the world after genocide, and did not recognize the first genocide of century, officially, yet they support Armenia’s #1 enemy and US best muslim ally in that region, “fake Turkey’ , where 70% of Turkish public opinion indicate that US is their #1 enemy!!
LOL
This article reveals more about armenian insecurity than it does about us state depts judgement.
what Armenian insecurity are you talking about ?
please enlighten us. and don’t be shy.
No comment
US Embassy in Baku Azerbaijan, Clashes Between The Police & Islamists on 9-17-2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-abPON768o
Shows you how much the US understands Armenia. – all the while US, a country who does not understand Armenia, is also involved in the OSCE group talks regarding Kharabagh? No wonder we’re getting no where with the peace talks or with moral resolutions on the Congressional floor.
Very well said, I wonder if secretary of state Hilary Clinton would have any straight answers.
I have always said it: The US State department is the enemy of all Armenians especially in obstructing any just acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide.
1.During Bush jr’s.. tenure, Armenia was placed on the terrorist list by the US state department remember? It was taken off as a result of massive protest by the Us Armenians
2.Conde Rice boasted how she thwarted the Armenian Genocide resolution.
3.Clinton basically repeated the typical Turkish denial playbook after being on record for advocating recognition of the AG.
4. Cohen And Albright created a phony genocide prevention task force after basically denying the Armenia genocide and being called upon it.
5. Many State department heads signed the infamous letter countering any Armenian Genocide acknowledgement as being against National Interest.
US STATE DEPARTMENT is the Armenians worst enemy for justice and truth. Understand that well..
well said.
except it is not the US State Dept: they don’t have their own policy; it is just a tool.
there are larger interests that order the State Dept and POTUS to do this or that.
Albright, Condi Rice, Clinton – all are foot soldiers carrying out orders.
Avery, you are absolutely right. I personally believe the United States wants to be helpful to Armenia but just like the most of the American economic problems can be blamed on big corporations sending jobs overseas and outsourcing their workforce, the American foreign policy has also been hijacked for decades by foreign agents overseas and their proxies in the United States. These foreign agents are the true enemies of the Armenian people not the United States itself. Needless to say, some corrupt and greedy American politicians who are only after their own self interests are affected in the process.
The Armenian Diaspora in America is no more than a hundred years old. About a million plus strong Armenian community in the United States has thrived in every aspects of life you can imagine and has much freedom to pursue its future as it sees fit. This can not be said about other countries where Armenians had lived for centuries, Muslim countries in particular.
We must always make a distinction between the generous and welcoming American public and their government which is run by foreign agents, clandestine organizations and many anti-Christian policy makers within them. The American foreign policy won’t change much until these hidden forces are neutralized or eliminated.
Armenia has both direct enemies and indirect adversaries and they are both linked together based on self-interests. The two direct and main enemies of Armenia are Turkey and its proxy Azerbaijan. These two countries, one formed based on occupation and genocide and the other nothing more than an oil depot with an artificial existence. These two countries collaborated together and tried to eliminate Armenia militarily in the past and today they are trying to accomplish the same thing economically. They failed in the past and they have also failed now and will continue to fail.
The adversaries who indirectly affect Armenia are NATO, which includes Turkey from our direct enemy list, and the NATO proxies such as Israel and Azerbaijan. The link between NATO and Azerbaijan is Turkey and the Azerbaijani oil. In other words, NATO makes its foreign policy decisions based on the interests of Turkey, therefore also Azerbaijan, which may adversely affect Armenia. Add to this the fact that Armenia is within Russian sphere, a former enemy of NATO. This leaves Israel and Israel is only concerned about its own existence and interests and will make use of all these countries, through arms deals and blockade of Armenian Genocide resolutions to advance its own agenda. Israel by selling arms to Azerbaijan becomes an indirect threat to the security of Armenia. By helping Turkey, at least in peace time, to block Armenian Genocide resolutions, Israel is a direct threat to the Armenians because it needs to grab the spotlight and be viewed as the only “true” victim of genocide since its survival is dependent on charities in billions from the western world, the United States in particular.
State Department leadership are just dupes of those behind-the-scene evil powers collectively called “internationalist power elites”. These groups are composed of psychopaths obsessed with the idea of world domination. In this country, such conspiratorial groups are the Council on Foreign Relations and the American branch of the Trilateral Commission. Their members naively believe they are the masters of this world who can impose total control over the society. They forget, however, that the Earth and the Universe have the Lord and that there exists no such a thing as “total control” in the nature, for wherever there is Evil there will always be Good that people of free will represent.
Ararat: You’re correct. One thing, though. NATO, Israel, Azeri oil, foreign agents, domestic clandestine organizations, anti-Christian policy makers et al are, of course, players and factors, and in most cases, anti-Armenian players and factors. But they are not the determinant players or factors; they are just cabals of supranational, supragovernmental internationalist secretive groups, collectively called by various names: international conspiracy, internationalist power elites, international corporatocracy, etc. It is hard to neutralize or eliminate these hidden forces because, being petty cowards, they stay in the rearguard, in the shadows behind their evil deeds. Therefore, the most effective weapon to defeat these world domination-obsessed manipulative powers is (1)to KNOW who they are and (2)to EXPOSE them on every occasion available to the people of goodwill, common sense, and deep faith.
Yes, and it is especially disturbing in light of the fact that Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey are up to their eyeballs in such extremists and Al-Qaeda.
All three of those countries have at one time or another, including today, served as a base or transit point for such extremists or had their citizens arrested for being members of Al-Qaeda.
A number of these characters have wound in at the US base at Guantanamo.
Armenia’s hands have been clean in these respects.
This has been the case for over 10 years, yet the Armenian media do not point out these facts.
This is what happens the facts have not been hammered home.
Simple as A.B.C! (Hope you armenians could understand)
Armenia is pursuing policies detrimental to the American interests in the Caucasus. Therefore, America is punishing the above-mentioned country. Same as Israel in the Middle East.
Ahmet: Since your mentality is so simplistic as ABC and your educational level so low as to write the ethnonym “Armenians” in lower case, do enlighten us as to how tiny Armenia’s policies can be detrimental(?!) to the United States of America? Don’t forget to add (in a simple way so we Armenians understand) as to what should each of the world nations do: pursue their own national interests or comply to America’s interests that can be detrimental to each country’s national interests? As an example, don’t forget to explain with all the lucidity of your Turkish mind as to why Turkey denied usage of its territory for the US military deliveries to its troops at the outset of the Iraq war? By doing do was Turkey not pursuing policies detrimental to the American interests? We, Armenians, look forward to your innovational ideas in the field of international politics. Thank you.
{A group of protesters burn and step on a US flag during a demonstration in front of the US Embassy in Ankara against an anti-Islam film} (HDN September 17, 2012).
[Turks attack American soldiers in southern Turkey](HDN Jul 18, 2012)
Seven Turks have attacked American soldiers and tried to put bags over their heads in the southern province of Antalya, daily Hürriyet reported today…. The attackers, who were reportedly members of the Turkish Youth Association (TGB), at first verbally attacked the American soldiers, who had left an American aircraft carrier moored off of Antalya to shop.
Police intervened in the incident and detained the seven men…..The detained men were later released.}
{First Publish: 11/25/2010, 7:21 PM / Last Update: 11/25/2010, 7:13 PM
Turkey allowed weapons to be smuggled to Al Qaeda forces in Iraq, according to documents that are about to be exposed in the WikiLeaks website. This – according to a report Thursday in the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat.
The newspaper reports that WikiLeaks – which specializes in publication of classified documents – has gotten hold of classified official documents that prove that the Turkish authorities allowed money and weapons to pass across Turkey’s border with Iraq, en route to Al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq.}
Some NATO ally. Perennial ingrates. And this after US and Europe pumped US$ 100s of billions into Turkey and brought it to modern age after joining NATO. What do you expect from people who exploited and lived off the work and wealth of its Christian minorities and thanked them by exterminating them wholesale, after stealing all the accumulated wealth.
Simple as A. B. C.: Annihilate the indigenous peoples. Blot out the crime from memory and written record. Confiscate the wealth of the victims.
Yes Ahmet, your beloved civilized people easily can get into Armenian capital and thrown stone and fire on embassy!! If you see link below you will find your beloved nation demonstration as well!!Armenia surrounded with see of Muslim “enemies” and they would love to create headache for US and Armenia!!! US warn her citizens travelling around 50 countries, and Armenia name is not there. I have checked entire internet, Turkey’s name popping up every time I search!!
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2012/09/2012914181845374685.html
simple as 1,2,3:
If armenia wishes to pursue their own national interests that clash with those of america, then dont whine that america hurts delicate flowers of the Caucasus! (namely armenians)
Dear John,
Ahmet may be right. There are forces in the US govt that support Georgia and Azerbaijan over Armenia. Why get persnickety over inconsistent capitalization. A lot of people make grammatical mistakes, especially in the comment section.
Armenia does not have oil.
Armenia trades with Iran.
Armenia is a vassal of Russia.
Simple as ABC, the US is not pro-Armenia. The US is pro-Turkey (the US is an imperial country and, thus, respects imperial or former imperial countries like Turkey).
John, you are right about Turkey’s slap at US interests. However, the US is still more pro-Turkish than pro-Armenian. It is using Turkey today to destabilize the Assad govt. and squeeze Iran.
I don’t understand Ahmet’s sentence about Israel, however. Is Ahmet saying the US is punishing Israel? Obviously, that doesn’t make sense.
Indeed, for Turkish simpletons it is simple: either A, B, C or 1, 2, 3. But guess what, Armenia has no interests that CLASH with those of America. Armenia has its NATIOANL INTERSTS that at one time or the other, in one way or the other, with one country or the other, may converge or diverge. And this is true with ANY country on the face of the Earth. Perhaps for simplistic Turkish minds we, Armenians, are “whining”, but serious people can understand that spotlighting Christian Armenia as one of the countries in which U.S. embassies issued security alerts for an anti-Islam film, is idiotic on the part of foreign policymakers in Washington, DC. Therefore, the indignation of the Armenians is righteous.
Dear Armen: What are you trying to tell? That since Armenia doesn’t have oil for natural reasons; trades with one or two of its neighbor-states because the other two have imposed an illegal blockade; and is a military ally of Russia because of the threats by two barbarous Turkic states in the East and in the South-West, it makes Armenia’s policies DETRIMENTAL to the American interests?! What, all of the world countries’ national interests must be brought to uniformity to American interests? Is it at all possible? The US is not an imperial country in the true sense of the word. The US doesn’t represent a political unit that has an extensive territory or comprises a number of territories or nations ruled by a single supreme authority. The US is not a metropolis since it has no multiple conquered peripheries. The US is pro-Turkey for geopolitical and geoeconomic considerations, but nonetheless spotlighting Christian Armenia in the list of Islamic countries infuriated because of an anti-Muslim film, is cheap and idiotic.
I wonder if secretary of state Hilary Clinton would have any straight answers
This is far more serious than a simple clerical error or misjudgement. The effects of this “mistake” are bigger than you think. Now every ignoramus in the US (and there is a lot of them) will take one look at that map and automatically associate our noble, civilized, and Westernized Armenia with those savage Islamic countries, some of which are as hateful towards us as they are towards Americans. I can hear it now “Them Muslim A-rab Armenians can go to hell. America!” While the truth can’t be farther from it. We are the most “European” (religiously, culturally, ethnically, etc) nation in the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, Near East, Middle East whatever you want to call it. Yet with irresponsible and damaging information like this our image is tainted in the eyes of the majority of the Western world’s population, who are too ignorant or uneducated to realize that we are about as different from our neighboring nations as Sweden is from Swahili. It is every Armenian’s duty worldwide to educate people about us.
So you criticize these Americans/Westerners for their ignorance but your comments on Islamic countries seems like something that would come right out of the mouth of such “ignoramuses.”
This is simply a gesture by Hilarious Clinton to look good to Turkey and Azeris… and to the governments of the world, is to show Clinton’s Idiocracy
Also I believe the Hypocrite Clinton is expressing this way that how she despise Armenia
This is exactly about how much USA cares about Armenia!
Serves their right!
Not surprisingly, US is being paid back by Islamic governments that it helped to come to power.
Armenia has more enenies than it sees. I would think the embassies in Moslem Turkey and Azerbaijan would be better targets for the current anti-American sentiment. Oh but wait, they like American tax payer’s foreign aid dollars…they know where ‘their bread is buttered…’
So how many of you knew about this before reading about in an Armenian newspaper or Armenian website? Non-Armenian news sources mention Armenia one time in the article and then move on to places with the protests. So….. calm down.
Dear friends,
The State Department is absolutely right ! The whole affair has nothing to do with
the Armenians. Don´t forget in one of the worlds smallest countries the US have their second biggest embassy. Hundreds of clerks are working where 25 were
totally sufficient. The danger of neighbouring Moslem countries is enormous.
So relax and don´t go on quarreling !!!
ARMENIANS LOVE THE UNITED STATES AND ITS PEOPLE AND RESPECT AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN CHRISTIAN VALUES, THE US HAS ONE OF THE LARGEST EMMBASSIES IN THE WORLD IN ARMENIA, THE US SHOULD RESPECT ARMENIA AND IT’S PEOPLE WILL NEVER ALLOW ANY HARM TO COME TO AMERICANS. AMERICANS TRAVEL ALL OVER ARMENIA WITHOUT ANY FEAR AND THEY KNOW VERY WELL ABOUT ARMENIAN HOSPITALITY.
I had assumed that the State Department was afraid of Iranian attackers.
Simply put, reptilians in Washington are pissed-off because of the unprecedented Russian-led military exercises taking place in Armenia. Western energy interests can’t stand it that due to Russia’s military presence in Armenia, they have not been able to place the south Caucasus region under Turkic/Islamic management.
CSTO in Armenia just proved that NATO can go and **** itself.
Armenia in the Eurasian Union will eventually prove that the EU can go and **** itself too.
I agree with the points made by John on 9/17. However, I would add to it the following important factors also.
a- Turkey is a member of NATO.
b- There are 24 NATO bases in Turkey.
c- Turkey has become the anchor territory of NATO’s controversial missile defense system.
With respect to the State Sept., it is painfullly obvious that it is full of ignorant people, who do not even know where Armenia is or that Armenians are Christians.
The whole issue of the 9/11 attacks on the US Embassies/consulates was very badly mishandled by the Administration and the State Dept. They did not heed to warnings that US interests were going to be the target of attacks on 9/11, and tried to put the whole blame on the infamous video. It is dishonest and disgraceful.
What is more frustrating is that the Liberal Media has been quiet about it.
Vart Adjemian
My first comment to jda.No jda.The real seasoned American diplomats know better than that-They have proof,rather there is proof to that.
After keeping the Americans hostages for 444 days at the US Embassy (pres. Carter time,remember?) they were released safe and sane .Not a hair of them was damaged.Same treatment applied to a few young Brits who were caught or detected in wrong spots but then the Iranians did no harm to them either,Fact is gave them new suits dresssing them well ,feeding too and released them.
This much cannot be DENIED it is there tpo note and understand.Which means the Persian/Iranian people are of another type.Though moslem but AZNIV(a better word in Armenian) more ort less honourable,translated that is.
Now to Hirair.You are correct.No more comment is necessary here for your post.
To Haarutik. Please, do not try to politicize the issue -.I remember when in Yerevan last year ,at a time when the 8 Super rich met at Vancouver was it?
to discuss The World Economic Crunch——-somehow they talked about NK Artsakh issue…this was rather out of place and not on the AGENDA!!!!
ome would think.Then I read in one Yerevan Newspaper the British Ambassador´s´comment to the effect or rather his true words that¨ENERGY ISSUE IS INVOLVED HERE¨.MANING THE BAKU oilfields of course.
Therefore all can be attributed to, -these days-to the SEVEN largest Oil Companies the Seven sisters…who actually have their say through the elected `politicians.
Armenia has the biggest American Embassy in the world, I believe the only other bigger embassy is something that’s being built in Iraq. Therefore, it is important to guard that. Not against Armenians but agains ANY potential threat, particularly that Armenians are surrounded with muslim nations that can attack Armenian, hence American Embassy any time. Why are you panicking for nothing? It is really nothing. Precaution is important. There are tons of Iranian citizens walking around Yerevan, what is someone caused a trouble..you know what I mean. What if a Turk posing as an Armenian did something wrong? I hope you understand where I am going with this, it is better to be guarded, it’s not against Armenia, it’s against the regional instability. Peace.
Terev,
Iranians seem to me so friendly and peaceful. I give it almost zero probability that they will intentionally cause trouble in Yerevan. If they have something to say/show to the US why would they do it through Armenia?
Terev writes: Armenia has the biggest American Embassy in the world, I believe the only other bigger embassy is something that’s being built in Iraq.
If I’m correct, the Armenians built the foundation and Turks built the building on it. That’s money Armenian workers lost out on and it smacks of the controversy in New York City when Moslems wanted to build a cultural center near Ground Zero. They’re stepping on you…
In removing American embassy personnel, who could be witness to Azerbaijan’s threats and Turkey exercising aggression against Armenians to notify the US government, if they might be at all interested? It’s 97 years later and the hate is still evident to annihilate the Armenians.
People may not know too much, lately some cargo- truck drivers were coming to Armenia with Tatar-Turks flags in the back of their trucks!!Personally I do not believe they were “Persians” but definitely they are from Iran’s Azerbaijani province with Tatar Turks drivers in there, going to Iran from Azer Baboons toward Iran’s Azerbaijan province then heading toward Armenia!! Armenia is surrounded with too many enemies, Foreign Embassies better be careful, you will never know if something happen there how the world news will react against Armenia and Armenians !!! US Embassy in Armenia is largest in the world !!They can easily accommodate 2000 US troops with no problem, guarding a huge place like this is not so easy for security reasons!!
Joke 1: armenia has one of the largest embassies in the world. So what? American territory covers up the most space in one of the smallest countries in the world. What a thing to be proud of!
Joke 2: armenia is christian so it deserves a special treatment from USA. Really? You happen to become one of the closest ally of Iran and Russia and you expect favor from USA. LOL. Even if Jesus would live in armenia , this country could not even get a favor from usa because of its relations with Iran and Russia.
Fact:1 Armenia is too small and unimportant.
Fact 2: Turkey is way more important to USA than a mountainous landlocked country.