Washington’s dirty secret: We watched, we armed, they fled

In the wake of Azerbaijan’s recent military assault and ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), one might assume that the United States—self-proclaimed champion of human rights and international law—would move swiftly to hold the aggressor accountable. Instead, U.S. military and security assistance to Azerbaijan continued through the invasion and the subsequent blockade and genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s population, all shielded by bureaucratic inertia and an outdated rationale. There was already a tool in place to stop it: Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. Yet, this tool went unutilized throughout the conflict due to a power that should have never been bestowed on any president—the presidential waiver. Section 907, enacted in 1992, prohibits U.S. aid to Azerbaijan until it ceases all blockades and uses of force against Armenia and Artsakh. It was designed to deter precisely the kind of behavior Azerbaijan has escalated in recent years: military aggression, the destabilization of borders and the systematic displacement of ethnic Armenians from the region. Even with the waiver, there were still specific criteria the president had to follow. To use the presidential waiver, the president must certify that Azerbaijan has ceased offensive force against Armenia and Artsakh. Section 907 also requires that, when the waiver is exercised, the president reports to Congress—delegated to the secretary of state—on how assistance supports U.S. counterterrorism goals, does not undermine peace efforts and is not used for offensive purposes against Armenia or Artsakh. According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation, since 2002, presidents—via delegated authority to the secretary of state—have annually waived this restriction by certifying that assistance is necessary, such as for terrorism prevention or border security, and will not undermine peace efforts or be used offensively. However, between fiscal years 2014 and 2021, State Department reports to Congress failed to consistently address all required statutory elements. In some years, the reports lacked discussion of the impact on the military balance between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Others omitted an explanation of how the aid was not used offensively or how it aligned with peace process efforts. The State Department also failed to sufficiently demonstrate how aid sent to Azerbaijan was being used to counter terrorism in the region. The president was given monumental power with the ability to waive aid restrictions, with the expectation that all criteria outlined in the law would be followed. Every president since Section 907’s enactment has failed to uphold those criteria. Despite Azerbaijan’s repeated violations—most egregiously, the September 2023 offensive that forced over 120,000 Armenians to flee their homes in Artsakh—successive U.S. administrations have routinely waived Section 907. First authorized after 9/11 to secure cooperation on counterterrorism and energy routes, the waiver has since become a rubber stamp, detached from the facts on the ground. President Trump waived Section 907 during the war and President Biden waived it during the blockade. It was not until the September 2023 offensive, widely recognized as ethnic cleansing, that the waiver was not renewed. Upon the new “peace deal” signed between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, President Trump waived Section 907 once again. Only time will tell if this new “deal” will lead to long-lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus, or if it is merely another superpower trying to form a hegemony in the region. Contrary to popular belief, enforcing Section 907 does not require new legislation or overcoming partisan gridlock. It requires one clear decision: for the President of the United States to stop signing the waiver. Doing so would immediately suspend all military and security assistance to Azerbaijan. There is no ambiguity in the law’s intent or in Azerbaijan’s recent conduct. The waiver was never meant to be permanent and it certainly was not meant to greenlight ethnic cleansing. For over two decades, the presidential waiver has turned a human rights safeguard into a geopolitical loophole. Even when Azerbaijan acts with flagrant aggression, the waiver mechanism allows the U.S. government to continue aiding its military under the vague umbrella of "national security interests." It has become a blank check for impunity. Congress should go further than simply urging restraint. It should legislate the permanent removal of the presidential waiver authority from Section 907. Doing so would: Reassert Congress’s original intent: prevent American complicity in regional aggression. Align U.S. aid policy with its stated values: democracy, human rights and peace. Send a clear signal to Azerbaijan: future aggression will come with material consequences. This is not unprecedented. Congress has placed strict conditions on foreign aid to human rights violators before—from Egypt to Pakistan—and it can do so here, especially in light of the ethnic cleansing in Artsakh. Lawmakers should introduce legislation to amend the Freedom Support Act, striking or narrowing the waiver provision and restoring Section 907 as a meaningful policy tool. Human rights and international law should not be optional. Enforcing Section 907 is also a strategic necessity. Armenia, despite its many challenges, has embarked on a democratic path since the 2018 Velvet Revolution. This is exactly how reformers in the South Caucasus will view this. It takes a lot of work to reform a post-Soviet state, and even more to maintain stability. If Western powers, with all their resolutions and demonstrations of solidarity, do not support states making democratic progress, then there will be little incentive for them to pursue reform and democratize. From a moral standpoint, continued aid to Azerbaijan is indefensible. The world watched in silence as the Armenian population of Artsakh was starved, terrorized and expelled in 2023. If the United States truly believes its own rhetoric about preventing ethnic cleansing, defending human rights and upholding international norms, then now is the time to prove it. Enforcing Section 907 is not about punishing Azerbaijan’s people. It is about signaling to its leadership—and the world—that aggression has consequences. It is about restoring the integrity of U.S. foreign policy, and most importantly, preventing future atrocities before they occur. Section 907 is already the law. All it takes to enforce it is political will and proper congressional oversight. Simply put, if we keep waiving the law for warlords, then we waive our right to speak of justice.

Washington’s dirty secret: We watched, we armed, they fled

How the U.S. ignored its law, enabling the genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s Armenians

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Kail Papazian-McHugh

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This story is FREE for you...

Kail Papazian-McHugh

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