Karimov's Uzbekistan is a tinderbox. His style of fighting terrorism only appears to encourage it. By persecuting those who create job opportunities for the poor, Karimov only aggravates existing social tensions. Events in Andizhan send Karimov another very dangerous sign: protesters are not demanding free elections -- they are literally up in arms fighting for survival.
The United States should wonder if Karimov is the kind of ally it needs in the war against terrorism.
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I've no doubt that Peter's spot on here.
But I'd like to riff on this for a moment and ask, in light of all we know about US actions in the past and the way its conducting this *war on terror* (in quotes because I wonder, how can you wage a war against a tactic nearly anyone, even my peg legged grand mama, can use at any given moment?) isn't it reasonable to assume that perhaps Karimov is precisely the sort of ally Washington believes it needs?
And further, aren't the Karimov's of the world the sort of allies Washington has always courted, cultivated and nourished because they're just the sort of hammer handed bloke they've always believed they needed?
I don't want to come off as a simpleminded, naive leftist who engages in by-the-numbers US bashing. We should be past this. I'm striving these days to have as few starry eyed illusions as possible (for example, Jihadis are dangerous and bad, but their state enemies are also often quite thorough bastards too...so, no cheer-leading either way).
It seems to me that a sober assessment of how Washington has conducted its international business should lead you to conclude that the sort of war on terror we're getting is precisely the one they want to fight -- not a defense of struggling states against Jihadi threats but a continuation of long established patterns only now with a new -- and yes, quite real, let me re-state again my lack of sympathy for Jihadi aims and zero belief in their revolutionary credibility, to head off the usual objections -- enemy to simultaneously battle and use as a prop for geopolitical games.
.d.