Uighur Prisoners: Radicalization
October 14, 2008 4 min. read

On October 6, Federal Judge Ricardo Urbina ordered the release of 17 Uighurs imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, arguing that the US government had no evidence and no right to hold them as ‘enemy combatants.’ The Bush administration has already stated that these 17 prisoners are not a security threat and conceded that they do not […]

Read more
Afghan Brother-to-Brother Corruption
October 13, 2008 4 min. read

I apologize for the lack of posts since Wednesday as I am in the middle of a move from New York to California. Today I would like to go over a few important stories that have occurred in the last week. Ahmed Wali Karzai a Drug Dealer? – The New York Times ran an article […]

Read more
2nd Presidential Debate: Afghan/Pakistan Policy
October 8, 2008 12 min. read

[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/y4XqaIWchQE” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]The 2nd Presidential Debate and the 2nd time each candidate failed to inform the American public of the fight ahead or layout a clear strategy for victory for Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Here is the transcript and video. Regarding military force and strikes in Pakisani territory, Obama emphasized this as a […]

Read more
Kyrgyzstan Earthquake
October 6, 2008 1 min. read

A large earthquake struck Kyrgyzstan's Osh region today and the death toll is currently around 70 and may increase. The village of Nura, which was home to about 1,000 people, was said to be completely flattened. The 6.6 US registered quake hit an area near the border to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and China well-known as a […]

Read more
Afghanistan: Building, not Rebuilding
October 6, 2008 4 min. read

Contrary to the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates during the recent debates, new leader of the US Central Command Gen. David Petraeus provides us with some straight talk and analysis about the Afghanistan conflict and possible strategies for success.  However, his position is still political and politics seep through at times, especially regarding whether or not […]

Read more
VP Debate: Afghan/Pakistan Policy
October 3, 2008 3 min. read

Last night's Vice -Presidential debate made last Friday's Presidential debate's discussion of what is going on and what strategy to implement in Afghanistan look depressingly deep. Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin barely scratched the surface of defining the seriousness of the conflict there, besides just mentioning Al Qaeda, and what strategy to implement, […]

Read more
Some of Central Asia's Issues
October 2, 2008 4 min. read

Here are a few items you may find of interest…please find them of interest! 1. Central Asia's Railroad – Continuing yesterday's discussion of China's growing influence and investments in Central Asia, well according to this Turkish Weekly report even the Yuan can't buy everything. The report argues that prospects for building a railroad that would […]

Read more
China's Rise in Central Asia
September 30, 2008 3 min. read

Yesterday, I offhandedly stated my disappointment about the lack of a discussion of China's growing influence during Friday's presidential debate.  It was amazing to me that the United States could have a "Foreign Policy' presidential debate and only mention the word China once.  The leaders, government, businesses, and citizens of Central Asia know how important […]

Read more
Presidential Debate: Afghan/Pakistan Policy
September 29, 2008 15 min. read

Good morning. I just want to provide some real quick reaction and analysis to Friday's presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. Here is the transcript (which I also put on the bottom of this post) and video, and here is video of the five minutes or so they spent on Afghanistan/Pakistan. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/CczYk8-qlZs” […]

Read more
Independence for Whom?
September 24, 2008 4 min. read

A few various items today: A. Yesterday, and the day before, we discussed the meaning of a new CSTO deployment in Central Asia, with myself coming out on the side that it was both a political and strategic move for Russia and for the Central Asian states involved.  Basically, Russia wants the CA states looking […]

Read more
CSTO Deployment: What are Moscow's and the Central Asian Leader's Motivations
September 23, 2008 4 min. read

Yesterday, we quickly went over the planned new alignment of the CSTO, which would consist of a deployment of 10,000 more troops and a missile shield, in what the organization's Secretary General called “a powerful military grouping of five countries in Central Asia." Eurasia Daily today provided more details of the new force structure, its […]

Read more
CSTO & EU: Let's Do This!
September 22, 2008 4 min. read

Today we will discuss two recent developments: An expansion of the Russia-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization CSTO and the first EU/Central Asian Forum on Security Issues held this past week.  What do these two developments individually tell us about Russia and the EU's role/position in Central Asia?  Which cooperation discussions and pronouncements have or will […]

Read more

Popular from Press