US officials are happy with a program that helps steer Pentagon contracts to local businesses in Central Asia. But Central Asian governments are grousing that they aren’t making enough of a profit off of the Afghan war.
US President Barack Obama’s administration may be touting a leaner, cheaper US military, but the latest National Defense Authorization Act allows for larger payouts to Central Asian states that are providing logistical cover for the Afghan war effort.
Traffic continues to be stalled on the Termez-Kurgan-Tyube line as a result of an explosion on November 17 between the Galaba and Amuzang stations, Choihona reported citing the independent Tajik news service Asia-Plus.
During a Central Asian tour that focused on regional security issues, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gingerly applied pressure on the presidents of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to improve their dubious human rights records. When pressing Uzbek President Islam Karimov to reform, Clinton reportedly secured a commitment from him to change his ways.
Uzbekistan’s desire to keep the Kremlin at bay appears to influence its participation in the Northern Distribution Network, a major supply line for the Afghan war effort.
Among the 250,000 diplomatic cables leaked from the U.S. government and published by WikiLeaks are several from Tashkent. In the initial weeks of the sensational revelations from around the world, which infuriated and embarrassed the U.S.
The U.S. plans to expand security cooperation with Central Asia, U.S. diplomats say, according to The Bug Pit blog last week. That means they will increase the capacity of the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), the system to deliver non-lethal military cargo for U.S. and NATO forces through Central Asia to Afghanistan. The U.S.
The United States intends to expand security cooperation with Central Asian states, US diplomats say. One means to do so, they add, is increasing the capacity of the Northern Distribution Network, which ships military cargo bound for US and NATO forces overland through Central Asia to Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan is still receiving U.S. military aid, despite efforts by the U.S. Congress to impose restrictions due to the human rights situation, according to a report from Open Society Foundations (OSF) by Lora Lumpe. Congress first imposed restrictions on military aid in 2002, and then the State Department cut off aid in 2004 when it could not certify under U.S.
The US Defense Department has gained an inordinate amount of influence over the distribution of security assistance in Central Asia, exerting an “oversized impact” on US foreign policy in the region, according to a report released October 15.
