In 2006, Kazakh President Nazarbayev made an impressive speech promoting the idea that the country he ruled would continue to grow in the years ahead and soon be among the world's top 50 economically competitive nations. Unfortunately, the economic downturn and lowering of energy prices have made this promise unfulfilled as of yet as Kazakhstan […]
In early December, Kyrgyzstan's state radio took off the air US-funded Radio Free Europe ‘Radio Azattyk’ without providing any explanation. It has also been reported that BBC programming was also taken off the air. It appears that the Kyrgyz state is clenching a vice on domestic and international media outlets, forcing its citizens to only […]
I apologize for my absent of late as I was spending the holidays way up in Alaska with my family, including my new niece. There has been much happening in our Central Asian region of the world and I will try to discuss all the recent happenings as soon as possible. Before the holidays took […]
It is amazing how one incident, at times, can symbolize so much. Weeks ago, on November 27, in northwest Afghanistan, Taliban forces ambushed a large convoy of Afghan soldiers and policemen, killing 14, wounding 27, kidnapping another 20, and destroying or stealing over 20 vehicles. How could such a successful attack occur against soldiers and […]
As the Kyber Pass and other transportation lanes through Pakistan into Afghanistan have become increasingly subjected to Taliban and insurgent attacks, NATO has looked to alternative routes. In just the last week or so there have been at least 3 separate attacks on NATO supplies inside of Pakistan, including one incident where hundreds of NATO […]
The foreign minister of Afghanistan met with his regional counterparts on Sunday in Paris to discuss closer cooperation in terms of narcotics trafficking, counterterrorism measures, and how to stabilize the country. The conference was brought together by France's Foreign Minister Bernard Koucher who asserted: "There is a consensus that there can be no peace, security […]
On Sunday, the a reported 94% of the people of Turkmenistan participated in the nation's 4th Mejlis (parliamentary) elections. Turkmenistan's government run Central Election Commission called the vote a great success and ‘historic.’ The election is supposed to represent a more open and democratic Turkmenistan, as the country's President Berdymukhamedov earlier this year reformed the […]
I just finished watching Questar's Modern Warfare ‘Russia in Afghanistan’ documentary and it contained some great and dramatic footage of the ten year war, which ended in yet another defeat of a world power in the Hindu Kush. Many elements of this bygone war are strikingly similar to the current NATO/Afghan government led war against […]
Making predictions is a fool's man's game…thankfully I love that game! While one cannot foresee what exactly the future holds, some trends can be seen. For instance, it is hard to foresee any changes in the political leadership of all the Stans’, as they are all deeply entrenched and seem to have learned much from […]
In the second to last installment of our Central Asian Year in Review I want to discuss two things: Issues and events in the CA region that have lacked media coverage commensurate with their importance and common misconceptions about our subject area. Afghanistan is at the heart of both. The story that has received the […]
Today, in the second part of our Central Asia: Year in Review, we will discuss the global recession's impact on our region. A couple weeks ago, I went over Kazakhstan's sickening economy and their government's early efforts to stem the tide, while at the same time drawing a connection to how Kazakh and the rest […]
Just a few days ago I was jotting down some of the major happenings in the Afghanistan and Central Asian region this past year and a few significant items came to mind, but it was not until I went over my resources, news clippings, and former posts did I realize that there were stories everywhere. […]
My predecessor Bonnie Boyd completed a 2007 Central Asia Year in Review which you can find to your right and here. She made predictions regarding the CA region for 2008 and since that year is nearly come to pass, how bout we go over them? No, you don't want to? Well, too bad, I’m gonna […]
I have been little by little discussing an extensive review of the Afghanistan conflict by the Bush Administration and it finally looks like bits of the actual report have begun to surface. The review was headed by War czar Lt. Gen Douglas Lute and included many expert voices from inside and outside government and was […]
Yesterday morning, I attended a lecture and discussion led by Tatyana Zhukova titled ‘From Nomads to Central Asian Tigers’ about her home country of Kazakhstan at the World Affairs Council – San Diego. Zhukova, an ethnic Russian, worked for several years as an economic specialist for the US embassy in Kazakhstan and recently moved to […]