EurasiaNet

"Since the September 11 attacks in the United States, neo-conservatives who dominate policy making within the Bush administration have tended to view violence in the Middle East and Central Asia through the prism of what Roy termed the international jihadist struggle. This tendency encourages authoritarian practices in the two regions by effectively giving a green light to governments to engage in repression, while shunning needed economic and political reforms." [more]

"The Uzbek government has been systematically persecuting Muslims for more than five years, jailing roughly 7,000 believers for engaging in non-state-sanctioned forms of religious expression. Some reports suggest the current Uzbek arrest spree is merely an extension of the ongoing crackdown on Islam, with Muslims being indiscriminately arrested. According to one British Broadcasting Corp. report March 31, one woman asserted that four of her sons were taken into custody because they share the same name as an militant who was captured March 30." [more]

"The government has claimed that Islamic radicals, with international terrorist connections, are behind the violence. Radical groups operating in Uzbekistan, including Hizb-ut-Tahrir, have not claimed responsibility. Scattered bits of information coming to light raise questions about an international terrorist connection, lending credence to the notion that the violence is a popular reaction to government repression." [more]

"As with human rights, Rumsfeld largely ignored Uzbekistan’s repeated failures to implement promised economic reforms. He focused solely on praising Karimov’s administration for being a 'key member of the [anti-terrorist] coalition’s global War on Terror.'" [more]

"Kyrgyz politicians bristle over what they characterize as Uzbekistan’s desire to act as the 'elder brother' in Central Asia. 'Official documents draw one picture and reality draws a completely different one,' Kyrgyz MP Oksana Malevanaya complained in an interview with the Bishkek newspaper Obshestvennii Rating." [more]

"...US administrator Paul Bremer spent much of the summer and fall mulling 'plans that could take years,' only to abruptly change his position in late 2003 following a 'hasty' return to Washington for consultations. Confronted with mounting violence in Iraq, and an increasingly confident Democratic Party at home, the Bush team tailored the Iraqi power transition to its own political needs, al Khafaji said." [more]

"Given the well-documented rights violations and other issues, the Bush administration’s policy towards Azerbaijan has been less than exemplary, and inconsistent with its self-declared 'forward strategy of freedom.' Whereas the circumstances appear to warrant a strong US condemnation of the Aliyev administration’s repression, the Bush administration has been solicitous of the new Azerbaijani president." [more]

"Gulbuddin, the Afghan defense official known as 'Doctor' from his former job as a surgeon, is worried about developments in the Middle East. An American invasion of Iraq, he says, could hurt his country’s efforts to build a lasting peace." [more]

"Three months before Pakistani elections, many expect the US to effectively support military rule no matter how elections go. In light of this public suspicion, Pakistan could be vulnerable to new terrorist attacks. In Karachi and Islamabad, where four terrorist attacks against Westerners have taken place in the past four months, security has become especially tight." [more]

" 'Many of these men have been fighting all of their adult life in a particular movement. Their whole life and their whole identity is formed by associating with that movement. Now if we suddenly tell them to forget about their identity and their past life, it is not going to be easy. If you look at all the militia members in Afghanistan, you see that their attitudes, their age and their whole outlook is very dissimilar.' " [more]