A recent string of anonymous bomb threats in Baku has set Azerbaijan on edge. Though the threats proved to be hoaxes, they have prompted officials to express concern that Azerbaijan could be at risk of a terrorist attack because of Baku's participation in the US-led occupation of Iraq. Some independent analysts, however, are skeptical of the government's analysis.
As Azerbaijan's presidential campaign enters its final days, Ilham Aliyev, son of Azerbaijan's ailing president and the ruling party's presidential candidate, has claimed that voters "have already made their choice" in favor of continuity. Meanwhile, the leading opposition candidate, Isa Gambar, has picked up a key endorsement from a rival political leader.
The Azerbaijani government is seeking to defuse lingering tension through negotiations after security troops used force against protesters in a Baku suburb regarded as a bastion of Islamic traditionalism. Officials have intimated that the early June confrontation in Nardaran was fomented by Iranian agents.
The Arab guerrilla Khattab, one of Chechnya's most powerful rebel commanders and an alleged international terrorist with ties to Osama bin Laden, reportedly died in Chechnya in April. Several days later, Russian officials reported that Khattab's confederate, Shamil Basayev, had also died. The Jordanian commander's legacy remains as unclear as the outcome of Russia's war with Chechnya.
As the anti-terrorism campaign builds in Central Asia, diplomats are pressing to reinvigorate peace talks to settle the long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in the Caucasus. An altered regional geopolitical reality has created "new perspectives," increasing optimism that a breakthrough can be achieved, according to a top US official involved in Karabakh negotiations.
