#6
Afghan war makes U.S. active in Moscow's backyard
By Sebastian Alison
ALMATY, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Central Asia's vast steppes, largely overlooked by the modern world until now, have become the newest strategic hotspot for Russian-American rivalry.
The ex-Soviet republics have seen a steady flow of visitors from the United States, anxious to secure military access to a region that borders Afghanistan but which Moscow still views as its own backyard, a decade after the Soviet Union collapsed.
The latest top-level visitor is General Tommy Franks, the commander of the campaign in Afghanistan. He had talks in Uzbekistan on Tuesday, hard on the heels of Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and others.
Washington has been allowed to deploy troops and has sent thousands to two of the five regional states, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. It has permission to send more to Tajikistan and has been offered logistical support by a fourth, Kazakhstan.
The question now vexing Russian policy makers is this: just how long will they stay?
Russia says it is happy to see U.S. troops in the region -- but only for the duration of the Afghan campaign. It sees Central Asia as a strategic bulwark against the drugs, political instability and militant Islam of Afghanistan and Iran.
Yet U.S. military involvement in the region since September 11 has added a dimension to competition over oil and other economic interests in post-Communist Central Asia that has drawn comparisons with the 19th-century "Great Game" rivalry in the same part of the world between British India and Russia.
DISSENT FROM RUSSIA
President Vladimir Putin gave the ex-Soviet Central Asian presidents his blessing to support the U.S.-led coalition last year. But voices of dissent are now beginning to be heard.
"Let them (the Americans) deal with Afghanistan," Gennady Seleznyov, Russia's Communist parliamentary speaker, said this month on a visit to Russian troops stationed in Tajikistan.
"The most important thing is that they should not deal with Central Asia with the same fervour."
Konstantin Totsky, who commands Russian forces on the Tajik-Afghan border, was blunter about the American presence:
"It is possible only for the period of the anti-terrorist operation by coalition forces in Afghanistan. But if this is for long, we will not be friends."
Yet U.S. officials seem in no hurry to remove the troops.
Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, one of a stream of visitors from Capitol Hill, told reporters last week that "our presence and relationship with the people of Uzbekistan and the countries in the region is not simply in the immediate term."
Uzbek President Islam Karimov, host to at least 1,500 U.S. troops at an air base, says he has set no time limit on its use.
Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akayev, who expects up to 3,000 U.S. troops and 40 aircraft at Manas airport near the capital Bishkek by the end of February, has signed a one-year agreement. But he has already said he may extend it.
Yet while U.S. officials have been welcomed warmly, senior Russians have not had such luck.
When Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov called on Uzbekistan's Karimov this month, the meeting started three hours late and Ivanov still left Tashkent two hours early.
American visitors get more of Karimov's time.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The United States may be winning a battle for influence as Central Asia's presidents hope for favours -- and money -- from their guests. But as it gears up for what could be a long stay, it recognises that it is dealing with governments frequently condemned for poor records on human rights and democracy.
Daschle raised human rights last week with Karimov, who, like all but one of the five leaders in the region, has been in power, first as Communist party boss and then as president, since before independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
"I think we would all agree that we have not seen as much progress as we had hoped for," he said of human rights in a country where Americans have frequently raised concerns over the disappearance of opponents of the regime.
Not that Karimov seems unduly bothered.
On Sunday, he holds a referendum to extend his presidential term to seven years from five. His term began in 2000 after the last mandate, won in 1995, was also extended by a referendum.
An extension is expected to be granted. And the United States, mindful of needing Karimov's support as it digs in for what could be a long stay, has had little to say about it.
Back to the Top
Next Article
January 22, 2002:
#6034
- Back to the Top -