The article says: “As we handled initial shockwaves of 9/11 attacks, President Heydar Aliyev convened his national security team in an emergency meeting to offer Azerbaijan’s unconditional support to U.S. It was one of the first nations to offer its airspace and on-ground facilities for overflights and stop-overs to U.S. personnel engaged in Afghanistan since the early days of the mission.

Committing its troops to U.S.-led missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo peacekeeping mission, Azerbaijan proved to be a steadfast ally of U.S. in the War on Terror. What’s more, official Baku also committed to post-2014 Afghanistan with President Ilham Aliyev contributing €3 million for development and training of Afghani nationals, security personnel and diplomats at Azerbaijan’s police academy, military schools and Diplomatic Academy.
Azerbaijan has also partnered with the U.S. on issues of counterterrorism and nuclear non-proliferation. Securing the region from trespassing of illegal weapons and arms trafficking, Baku protects its infrastructure as well as Western interests within the borders of Azerbaijan. Its security establishment also detained a number of Iranian individuals seeking to harm American and Israeli targets within Azerbaijan in 2012-2013.
Since 2003 Baku partnered with Oklahoma National Guard within the U.S. European Command State Partnership Program. Having been an active participant NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) program, Azerbaijan remains vital part of southern route of the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), an important corridor for US mission in Afghanistan. Up to 40 percent of the non-combat materiel destined for coalition forces in Afghanistan pass through Azerbaijan. Washington should support our ally Azerbaijan in its efforts to ensure prosperous and secure region for all — an objective shared by us here in the U.S. United with our allies, we’ll stand strong and tall!”