Azerbaijan: A Field of Combat for Washington and Tehran?

Iran is making a conscious effort to bolster its military and political standing in the Caspian Sea region, and in Azerbaijan in particular. This is an obvious effort not only to carve out strategic space in the Caspian before Washington can seize it, but also to ward off a potential U.S. invasion from Azerbaijan. This is the beginning of what probably will be intensifying competition for control in the Caspian.