US Will Stay in Central Asia -- AMERICA DELENDE EST

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Date Posted: 22:05:11 02/06/02 Wed
Author: Nikolai von Kreitor
Subject: US Will Stay in Central Asia

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U.S. May Remain in Central Asia

Copyright 2002 "The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press."

By GEORGE GEDDA

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two days after a late January referendum in Uzbekistan that was widely criticized by human rights groups, a top State Department official visiting the former Soviet republic promised a tripling of U.S. assistance to $160 million.

The scene was reminiscent of the Cold War era when the United States routinely set up alliances with regimes which, while not democratic, at least were anti-communist. Zaire, Somalia and a slew of erstwhile autocracies in Latin America come to mind.

A similar pattern is now developing as the United States seeks allies in the war on terrorism. Most notable are the handful of Central Asian countries, Uzbekistan included, whose geostrategic importance have increased since Sept. 11. Other countries in the region enjoying increased U.S. attention are Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. All have backed the campaign against terrorism.

The Bush administration`s concern is that Islamic radicals, no longer welcome in newly pro-Western Afghanistan, will try to set up shop in nearby Central Asian countries or make common cause with existing fundamentalist movements.

Another lure for the United States is the possibility of new energy investments in the former Soviet republics, especially oil-rich Kazakstan.

American troops are scattered in much of Central Asia. Officials expect to have continuing military cooperation in the region but a there are no plans for long-term U.S. military presence.

The Bush administration appears committed to assisting these countries in other ways, including democratic and economic development. All are poorer than they were during the era of Soviet control.

In Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday, U.S. and Kyrgyz forces launched nine days of simulated anti-terrorism exercises, part of a U.S. effort to help the desperately poor country deal with Islamic extremists.

Coinciding with the maneuvers was a U.S. Embassy statement criticizing the arrest of a Kyrgyz opposition lawmaker and other infringements on freedom.

None of the Central Asian countries has acquired more importance that Uzbekistan. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell have visited Uzbekistan. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, the United States deployed about 1,000 troops in southern Uzbekistan near the Afghan border.

President Islam Karimov, who has run Uzbekistan since the late Soviet period, apparently senses that the United States won`t be too much of a stickler for democratic norms.

On Jan. 27, he held a referendum in which 91 percent of Uzbeks backed an extension of his term from five to seven years. The fraudulent trappings surrounding the vote were such that the Bush administration did not bother to send a monitor.

Elizabeth Jones, who heads the State Department`s Europe and Eurasia bureau, showed up in Tashkent, the capital, and announced the generous aid package two days after the referendum. She also promised higher aid levels in the years to come.

Jones did not ignore the referendum, reiterating Bush administration criticism of it and calling for free elections.

Human rights problems in Uzbekistan are widespread. Says Elizabeth Anderson, who monitors Central Asia for Human Rights Watch: "Torture is a systemic problem in Uzbekistan." Thousands of opposition figures, mostly Islamic radicals, are detained. There is no free press.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., last month said, "The state of democracy and human rights matters to us, and unless Uzbekistan continues to move in that direction there will be limits on the support that we can give."

Neither Uzbekistan, Tajikistan nor Kyrgyzstan produces drugs but all three have served as conduits for Afghan heroin and other narcotics earmarked for Russia and Europe. The Bush administration is helping all three combat the problem.

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