Winds of Change.NET: Central Asia Briefing: 2003-06-20

June 20, 2003

Central Asia Briefing: 2003-06-20

by Joe Katzman at June 20, 2003 1:44 PM

June 20/03: Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings normally run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays. This special Regional Briefing focuses on Central Asia and "the -stans," including Afghanistan.

Today's Topics: Sean-Paul blogging on location; Afghanistan's consitution; "Taliban, Reloaded"; Islamist inroads in Kazakhstan; Georgia on the USA's mind; pipelines & strategic considerations in Turkmenistan; and the Afghan pipeline - rising again?

2 items from The Council for Foreign Relations and its flagship magazine cover challenges & next steps for Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf, respectively.

What will it take for the new Afghan constitution to mean anything? Barnett Rubin talks to Eurasianet.

Phil Carter has some good news about America and Old Europe in Afghanistan. Which is nice, because the news from neighbouring Pakistan is not good... a "Taliban, Reloaded" appears to be gaining strength in "The Lawless Frontier" across the border.

Incidentally, girls' schools are still major targets for ~~Islam's Klan~~ Wahhabi and Deobandi Islamists in Afghanistan. 11 new schools have been burned down by unidentified men in SE Afghanistan alone.

Georgia is on the USA's mind in Eurasia, not only in terms of spreading freedom and democracy but also in terms of geo-economics and geo-strategy. The country is warily examining a propozed deal with Russian natural gas giant Gazprom.

Turkmenistan: we've covered the recent natural gas mega-deal and its implications; work on the pipeline has now begun. What about the strategic issues in play around Turkmenistan and its unstable ruler?

Kazakhstan: Islamic radical party Hizb-ut-Tahrir is making inroads, and recently began calling for jihad against the U.S. and Britain. This is a significant shift by a party which has proved elsewhere to be capable of thriving amid rigid controls by the state.

Sean-Paul, a.k.a. The Agonist is blogging during his current journey through Central Asia, creating "The Silk Road Journal." The team he built up post-Iraq is doing a great job while he's away.

Remember that supposed "Afghan pipeline"? Well, India and Russia may be trying to revive it. Aftab Kazi explains why their odds of success are between slim and none (and Slim just left the building).Should we make this region part of our regular roster, or keep it as a special feature? Use the Comments below to let us know!

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Tracked: August 17, 2004 5:12 AM

Monthly Briefing--Blogiversary Edition from The Argus

Excerpt: With this blog having reached one year old, it's only fitting that I have a new Winds of Change briefing up. If you're a regular reader, well, nothing should be all that new. It is those briefings that got me

Comments

#1 from Nathen at 5:42 am on Jun 20, 2003

as a former agent of US policy in Uzbekistan (I'm an RPCV; we're covered by diplomatic protocols, so I consider us foreign policy tools), I'd love to see Central Asia a regular feature. Hell, I should start my own C. Asia blog...

#2 from Stephen at 3:36 pm on Jun 20, 2003

"Done a great job on the Agonist"

Perhaps. But the News Board there has degenerated into an invective-ridden, Bush-hating, conspiracy theory-loving, anti-Semitic, propagandistic exercise that would make al Jazeera blush. Read it for yourself.

#3 from Maxim at 12:26 am on Jun 21, 2003

"U.S. stands shoulder-to-shoulder with 'Old Europe' in Afghanistan"

reading this should give insight in the real goal in 'old-europe's policy and honesty. it is not to confront the US, but helping them on their way against global threats - as long there is a minimum of unaviodable rules, and we can see both sides of the atlantic are willing to pull on the same end.
this is neccesary if the western world wants to gain a stable and humane world in a century where different threats to our security, democracy and to humanity in general arise.
beeing allied, and beeing in a partnership means giving and taking from each other and it means critizing each other and it means to hear to the demands of each other.
pre-iraq war this rules where broken by each side of transatlantic partnership. to develop a future in peace and democracy means to reestablish this alliance and to reestablish this rules.

a future in peace duns to standing together and pulling on the same end. perhaps we are really in a tug of war between humanity and 'bad philosophy' - this would demand standing together at the right side of the rope.

#4 from petes at 6:06 pm on Aug 05, 2003

I'd love to see this a regular feature. Do you have any good links on CA bloggers? I used to do some policy work in this region and would like to take a closer look.

#5 from Omar at 9:56 am on Feb 25, 2004

The "Jihad" that Hizb ut-Tahrir is talking about is that of self-defence. It is seperate from their objectives as an organisation. The link you have posted speaks for itself:

"...there have been reports of a Hizb-ut-Tahrir delegation dispatched to the Ferghana valley in order to dissuade them [i.e. IMU] from their path of militarism."