It was just about five years ago when President George W. Bush said he looked into the "soul" of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and pronounced that that their meeting was "the beginning of a very constructive relationship." Now, amid sharp geopolitical maneuvering in the Caucasus and Central Asia, the United States and Russia seem to be girding for Cold War II.
Afghanistan's parliamentary elections today (September 18) is an event akin to a political riot, with almost 6,000 candidates scrumming for 249 seats in the new national legislature, as well as for an 430 positions on the country's 34 provincial councils.
The instant analysis by many political observers, as well as the Bush administration, is to classify Kyrgyzstan as part of the global domino effect of democracy. In the former Soviet Union, popular revolutions over the past 18 months have swept away the old order first in Georgia, then in Ukraine and now in Kyrgyzstan.
Officials in both Moscow and Bishkek have cast the decision to establish a Russian air base in Kyrgyzstan as driven by national security concerns, citing the threat posed by Islamic radicalism. However, Western political analysts and Kyrgyz opposition politicians say the Russian deployment could exert considerable influence over developments within Kyrgyzstan itself.
The Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, the country's main opposition movement, is preparing to renew the political offensive against President Nursultan Nazarbayev's administration. In recent weeks, the movement, or DCK, has taken steps to reinforce its ranks.
Once hailed as an "island of democracy," Kyrgyzstan now finds itself engulfed in political violence rooted in the government's attempt to stifle dissent. Security forces clashed with protestors March 17 in a remote area of southern Kyrgyzstan, leaving at least five dead and 61 people injured. Authorities in Bishkek blame government critics for inciting the violence.
In an exclusive interview with EurasiaNet, Boris Shikhmuradov, a leader of Turkmenistan's growing opposition movement, said political turmoil in Ashgabat indicates that Turkmen leader Saparmurat Niyazov is worried about his hold on power. Shikhmuradov added the opposition intends to increase the pressure on Niyazov in an effort to topple his authoritarian regime.
A small group of US congressmen attended an informal dinner in Washington on October 17 with a top Iranian diplomat in an attempt to promote cooperation and speed the normalization of relations between the United States and Iran.
The US armed forces have launched combined military operations with fighters of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, according to a source familiar with developments in Afghanistan. Even as they provide support for Northern Alliance ground operations, US planners remain concerned about the potential for human rights abuses as anti-Taliban fighters begin to capture territory.
