Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[thepennyking]

The East now swings with an ever greater troubled mind:

Experts Wonder if $8.2 Billion in Afghan Aid is Sufficient to Break the Country’s Vicious Cycle
Camelia Entekhabi-Fard
International donors have pledged $8.2 billion over three years to foster Afghanistan’s reconstruction. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has pronounced himself satisfied with the international aid commitment, despite the fact that it is less than one-third of the amount that he sought heading into the March 31-April 1 Berlin donors’ conference.

Uzbek Government Dismisses Link Between Terrorism and Poverty
Uzbekistan’s government appears to be digging in its heels as it responds to the Islamic radical violence. Uzbek Foreign Minister Sadyk Safayev was dismissive of a link between recent violence in Tashkent and socio-economic discontent in the country. Safayev also insisted that the government’s firm response was fostering the "social and psychological consolidation" of Uzbek society.

Uzbek Events Could Prompt Geopolitical Shift
Esmer Islamov and Sergei Blagov
The March militant attacks in Uzbekistan have potentially profound geopolitical ramifications. Since the September 11 terrorist tragedy, Tashkent has served as the United States’ key strategic partner in Central Asia. There are indications, however, that the four-day bout of violence in Tashkent could hasten a move by President Islam Karimov’s administration to improve relations with Russia.


Uzbek Officials: Preliminary Results of Investigation into Violence May be Ready in Four Days
Esmer Islamov
Uzbek officials sought to bring a quick conclusion to uncertainty following four days of violence that rocked the capital Tashkent. Law-enforcement authorities pressed ahead with a massive dragnet operation to hunt down suspected Islamic radicals. Officials also indicated that the preliminary results of an investigation into the armed clashes may be ready within four days. Political observers and human rights activists, meanwhile, warned that the government may to use the crisis to drastically expand a clampdown on individual freedom in the country.

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/index.shtml