President Barack Obama's decision to escalate the US military presence in Afghanistan has generated heated debate. Largely lost in the swirl of discussion is the surge's hidden cost on neighboring Central Asian states.
As the globe marks World AIDS Day today, the United Nations is warning that the spread of the disease is particularly acute in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where the UN says "HIV prevalence clearly remains on the rise."
Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan all showed significant decreases in corruption over the past year, according to a recently published worldwide survey by a Berlin-based watchdog group. The survey also showed that Armenia's rating declined, and the rest of the Central Asian states remained near the bottom of the rankings.
October marks the beginning of military call-up season in much of Central Asia. But Talant, a 24-year-old Kyrgyz man, says he intends to avoid the draft at any cost.
"Under current circumstances in the army, I wouldn't want to serve in the armed forces,' said Talant.
"We hear a lot about bullying in the army, about poor social conditions in the army."
