Good post Lepus,

I worked out in Azebaijan for a while, on the initial collapse of the USSR, the place got it's independence. Russia immediately regretted letting this happen, as you stated in their post the Russians are extremely sensitive about what occurs in that region. In the lead up to the final withdrawal of Soviet rule from Azerbaijan the KGB suppression of riots and civil unrest was brutal in the extreme. The founder of " The Aliyev Dynasty" mentioned by Lepus was the officer commanding the KGB in Azerbaijan at the time. He has since died and his son has taken over, having just "won" election in a vote that has been vigorously contested by the opposition.

There is an ongoing dispute between all the Caspian countries regarding offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction.

Initial fears of foreign investors related to something mentioned by Lepus, there are many times more Azeri's in Iran than there are in Azerbaijan, the fear was that fundamentalist Iran would win over the Azeri population of Azerbaijan. In fact as things turned out, all indications were that the reverse would be true, that secular and rapidly developing Azerbaijan would act as a magnet to repressed and frustrated Azeri's in Iran.

I agree with Lepus, Azerbaijan is in no danger of attack by the US. The main threat to the secular state of Azerbaijan comes from how quickly it's own rulers can downstream the developing wealth of the country to benefit the general population.