#6
The Electronic Telegraph (UK)
14 October 2001
America pays a high price
for Asian support
By David Wastell in Washington and Damien Mcelroy in Tashkent
AMERICA is preparing to pour billions of dollars into the economies of central Asia, with more earmarked for Afghanistan itself, in a battle to shore up the regimes on the front-line of the battle against the al-Qa'eda terrorist network.
Senior Washington officials admit that American cash, some of which is already pumping into the dusty cities of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, is effectively payment in advance for the services to be rendered over the next few months in the anti-terrorist campaign.
A senior Republican adviser said: "Despite the problems with their lack of true democracy, their friendship at this time is going to be remembered."
Congress is drawing up plans for a £208 million ($300 million) injection of money and military aid to bolster Afghan opponents of the Taliban regime, including the Northern Alliance, and for an extra £69 million ($100 million) for relief aid on top of the £243 million ($350 million) already announced by President Bush.
Officials say this would be followed, once the Taliban regime has been replaced, by even more money to be invested in reconstructing Afghanistan, in what some hope will be a new "Marshall Plan" for the region.
A foreign policy official said: "This will end up as a multi-year, multi-billion dollar effort. But we don't want any more Taliban-type regimes. Just think how much money we would have saved if we'd invested a fraction of that in Afghanistan when the Soviets withdrew in 1989."
Until now, America has publicly refused to finance or equip the Northern Alliance, which is fighting to retake ground within Afghanistan from the Taliban but has a sickening human rights record.
Most of its equipment is being supplied by Russia, and there are suspicions that Washington may have indicated it will look leniently on future economic requests by Moscow in exchange.
Some of America's intelligence agencies - most likely the Defence Intelligence Agency, congressional officials say - are also thought to be assisting the alliance behind the scenes. "Things are going on," said one administration official, "but nobody's talking about it."
There are fears, however, that much of the aid could end up being diverted by corrupt local officials, most notably in Uzbekistan, whose dictatorial president, Islam Karimov, is busily building himself a vast marble palace.
American aid to Uzbekistan was cut back in the 1990s after anxiety that too much was flowing through concerns linked to Mr Karimov's family and associates. Last year, it totalled only £37million ($53 million) - just a fraction more than was given to its much smaller neighbour, Tajikistan.
Mr Karimov's decision to grant American forces the right to use a former Soviet airbase for operations inside Afghanistan surprised many Uzbeks. The official line, in a joint statement from Washington and Tashkent was that the country would only host relief missions "in the first instance", but few believe this restriction will last for long.
The World Bank announced late last week that it is sending its top officer for central Asia to Uzbekistan in anticipation that the country would now get massive financial support from the United States.
The official, Dennis de Tray, said Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were now in line to receive new loans, debt relief and other benefits from international lenders.
Many within Uzbekistan suspect that Washington has made an offer Mr Karimov cannot refuse. An American Senate official said: "We are going to end up paying money to Uzbekistan. We had better hope it goes to worthy causes and doesn't end up in the pockets of Karimov or his cronies."
A team of American military inspectors arrived in Dushanbe, the capital of neighbouring Tajikistan, last week to cement an offer to open its bases and airspace to coalition forces.
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