A 1,000-mile oil pipeline that connects the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean opened on Wednesday. The Independent of London described it as the costliest and most significant pipeline ever built because it reshapes the geopolitical map of the Caspian region. The pipeline — which was built by a consortium led by BP — starts in the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan, passes through Georgia and ends in Turkey right near the massive U.S. airbase at Incirlik. The Asia Times reports the United States has been heavily involved in the planning of the pipeline over the past decade in an effort to secure a new source of oil outside the Persian Gulf and free of Russian influence. The newspaper points out that the most effective route of the pipeline would have been south through Iran or north through Russia but instead it was designed to only go through nations with strong U.S. support. At a ceremony on Wednesday, US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman stood alongside the heads of state from Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Bodman said ’We view this as a significant step forward in the energy security of that region.” The U.S. has spent millions to help protect the underground pipeline. $64 million was sent to Georgia to train troops in antiterrorism tactics and the Bush administration plans to spend another $100 million to train and equip the Caspian Guard — a network of special operations and police units that will protect oil facilities and key assets in the region. Meanwhile as the world focused on the new pipeline, the U.S.-backed government of Azerbaijan last week temporarily banned opposition parties from holding protest rallies demanding fair elections and free speech.