Growing U. S. Security Interests in Central Asia

Growing U. S. Security Interests in Central Asia PDF

Author: Elizabeth Wishnick

Publisher:

Published: 2002-10-31

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13: 9781463518400

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As Secretary of State Colin Powell told the House International Relations Committee in February 2002, the United States "will have a continuing interest and presence in Central Asia of a kind that we could not have dreamed of before." After providing background on the development of U.S. security interests in Central Asia, this monograph examines post-9/11 trends in U.S. policy and military engagement. In the 1990s the United States initiated military engagement with Central Asia to support the region's integration with western political-military institutions, as well as to protect the sovereignty and independence of these states, assist them to improve their border security against transnational threats, encourage them to adopt market-oriented reform and democratization, and ensure access to energy resources in the region. U.S. military cooperation expanded rapidly with Central Asian states in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 due to the framework of relations that had been built piecemeal in the 1990s. For the first time the United States acquired temporary basing in this region in response to a changing security environment, as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan became frontline states in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Anti-terrorism became the central focus of U.S. policy in the region, although other goals still remain important. The author argues that by placing a priority on anti-terrorism in U.S. policy toward Central Asia and rewarding Central Asian leaders for basing rights, the Bush administration is shoring up authoritarian regimes and encouraging public distrust of U.S. intentions in the region. She points out that weak regional security organizations, contingent support in Russia and China to the expanding American military foothold in the region, and instability in Central Asia will pose considerable challenges for the U.S. military. In conclusion, the author recommends an emphasis on rapid deployment from existing bases in Turkey rather than continued basing in Central Asia, a more coherent regional strategy and improved foreign area expertise for the Central Asian region, and a multilateral approach to addressing instability in the area.

Strategic Consequences Of The Iraq War

Strategic Consequences Of The Iraq War PDF

Author: Elizabeth Wishnick

Publisher:

Published: 2014-07-04

Total Pages: 54

ISBN-13: 9781312330092

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Central Asia is a key theater in the war on terrorism where fragile new states are attempting to consolidate political power, build legitimacy, and stoke economic development at the same time that they face a range of threats with security forces badly in need of reform. While the United States has recognized the pivotal role of Central Asia and greatly expanded its activities there, this is a new venue for America. U.S. policymakers are learning in stride as they seek ways to both strengthen the Central Asian states and to encourage them to undertake badly needed political reforms. In this monograph, Elizabeth Wishnick builds on the analysis in her important 2002 SSI study, Growing U.S. Security Interests in Central Asia. She contends that by highlighting antiterrorism, the United States addresses a symptom rather than the causes of instability in Central Asia; thus it is contributing to the radicalization of political opposition movements and discrediting both democratization and the U.S. commitment to it.

Central Asia¿s Security

Central Asia¿s Security PDF

Author: Jim Nichol

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2010-10

Total Pages: 62

ISBN-13: 1437927890

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Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) Central Asia¿s (CA) External Security Context; (3) Security Problems and Progress: Islamic Extremism and Terrorism; Terrorist Activities; Attacks in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan; Incursions into Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan; Civil War in Tajikistan; Border Tensions; Crime and Corruption; Economic and Defense Security; The Collective Security Treaty Org.; Water Resources; Energy and Transport; Illegal Narcotics Production, Use, and Trafficking; (4) Implications for U.S. Interests: Reactions to U.S.-Led Coalition Actions in Iraq; Military Coop.; Closure of Karshi-Khanabad; Emphasis on Kazakhstan as Strategic Partner; Manas Airbase in Kyrgyzstan; Counter-Narcotics Aid; (5) Issues for Congress: Should the U.S. Play a Prominent Role in CA?

U.S. Interests in Central Asia and the Challenges to Them

U.S. Interests in Central Asia and the Challenges to Them PDF

Author: Stephen J. Blank

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2014-06-23

Total Pages: 53

ISBN-13: 9781312301788

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For the United States, Central Asia is a region of both growing importance and of growing challenge. Its proximity to Russia, China, Iran, India, and Pakistan;, location as the center of the Global War on Terrorism; and its large energy holdings make it a strategic region where the United States has important, some might even say vital, interests. Those interests pertain, first of all, to geostrategic realities of security, particularly in the war on terrorism. But they also pertain to energy and to the effort to support liberalizing and democratizing reforms. However, today those interests are challenged by Russo-Chinese and Iranian opposition to U.S. presence there, those governments' and local regimes' resistance to reform, and the revival of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Therefore we need to assess how those challenges are manifesting themselves and how America best might adapt to meet them and pursue its interests with greater success.

U.S. Interests in Central Asia

U.S. Interests in Central Asia PDF

Author: Olga Oliker

Publisher: Rand Corporation

Published: 2006-01-10

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13: 0833040804

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The republics of Central Asia became more important to United States when U.S. forces were deployed there in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The authors examine U.S. interests in the region, identify three main components of a successful military strategy there; and conclude that the U.S. military should have a relatively minor, but important, role in U.S. policy toward this part of the world.

Central Asian Security

Central Asian Security PDF

Author: Roy Allison

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2004-05-13

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 9780815798538

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This volume is the first comprehensive scholarly analysis of the strategic reconfiguration of Central Asia as Russia has become more disengaged from the nations in the region and as these nations have developed new relations to the south, east, and west. The international implications are enormous because of the rich energy sources—oil and natural gas—located in the Caspian Sea area. The authors assess a variety of internal security policy challenges confronting these states—for example, the potential for conflict arising from such factors as a mixed ethnic population, resource scarcity, particularly in relation to water management, and an Islamic revival. They also examine the security policy content of relations between the Central Asian states and regional and international powers—specifically the stakes, interests, and policies of Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, and the United States. These internal challenges and the evolution of relations with external powers may result in new cooperative relationships, but they may also lead to destabilizing rivalry and interstate enmity in Central Asia. It is important to identify new patterns of relevance for future security cooperation in the region, but the potential for a new security system or for new institutions to manage security in the region remains uncertain. These issues are explored by a team of prominent specialists from Western Europe, the United States, Russia and China.

U.S. Interests in Central Asia and the Challenges to Them

U.S. Interests in Central Asia and the Challenges to Them PDF

Author: Stephen Blank

Publisher: Strategic Studies Institute U. S. Army War College

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 64

ISBN-13:

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The author assesses the interests of the United States in Central Asia and the challenges to them. These challenges consist of the revival of the Taliban, Russo-Chinese efforts to oust U.S. strategic presence from the area, and the possibility of internal instability generated by the regression of local regimes form democratizing and liberalizing policies. The author then recommends policies designed to meet those challenges to American policy in this increasingly more important area of the world.

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