Friday, September 30, 2005
Worst News of the Week
This is bad. Uzbekistan has stopped co-operating with us regarding terrorism. As bad as the French were regarding Iraq, they never stopped co-operating with us regarding intelligence in the war against militant Islamicism. Money quote:
After cutting off U.S. access to a key military base, Uzbekistan has also quietly terminated cooperation with Washington on counterterrorism, a move that could affect both countries' ability to deal with al Qaeda and its allies in Central Asia and neighboring Afghanistan, U.S. officials said.
The government of President Islam Karimov, one of the most authoritarian to emerge from the collapse of the Soviet Union, has made a broader strategic decision to move away from the 2002 agreement made with President Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and is cooling relations with Europe as well, the officials said.
So, we complain about human rights abuses by an increasingly authoritarian government in Central Asia and suddenly there's a hole in the intelligence net surrounding Afghanistan. Would it have been better to let Karimov become a mini-Stalin without criticism. Tough to call.
After cutting off U.S. access to a key military base, Uzbekistan has also quietly terminated cooperation with Washington on counterterrorism, a move that could affect both countries' ability to deal with al Qaeda and its allies in Central Asia and neighboring Afghanistan, U.S. officials said.
The government of President Islam Karimov, one of the most authoritarian to emerge from the collapse of the Soviet Union, has made a broader strategic decision to move away from the 2002 agreement made with President Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and is cooling relations with Europe as well, the officials said.
So, we complain about human rights abuses by an increasingly authoritarian government in Central Asia and suddenly there's a hole in the intelligence net surrounding Afghanistan. Would it have been better to let Karimov become a mini-Stalin without criticism. Tough to call.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 7:52 AM 
