UMAROV DECLARES MORATORIUM ON ATTACKS AGAINST RUSSIA’S “PEACEFUL POPULATION”
By Kevin Daniel Leahy (3/21/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The so-called “Emir of the Caucasus Emirate,” Doku Umarov, issued a video statement in early February in which he ordered those under his command to desist from carrying out attacks that might injure or kill Russian civilians. This statement was remarkable given that in the past number of years Umarov has associated himself with several high-profile rebel attacks on civilian targets in the Russian heartland. Some observers have taken the content of Umarov’s statement literally and interpreted his policy shift in the context of ongoing anti-government protests in Moscow and other Russian cities.
IRAN’S SELF-DEFEATING REGIONAL STRATEGY
By Richard Weitz (3/21/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)
One of the banes of the Central Asia & Caucasus region is that they have Iran’s hard-line regime as their neighbor. The clerical regime often fights with them over resources, uses their territories to wage spy wars, and exacerbates regional tensions through its generally aggressive policies.
US SECRETARY OF DEFENSE SEEKS TO SHORE UP MANAS AIR BASE
By Myles G. Smith (3/21/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Secretary Panetta visited Kyrgyzstan on March 13 to solidify that Bishkek honors its commitment to the agreement to host the U.S. military’s Transit Center at Manas International Airport outside Bishkek.
TURKEY AND KYRGYZSTAN DEEPEN TIES
By Dmitry Shlapentokh (3/21/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)
While Kyrgyzstan has expressed a desire to join Russia’s Eurasian Union in the future, a close analysis of Kyrgyz foreign policy indicates that it, similar to other Central Asian states who have expressed an interest in the project, regards increased integration with Russia as just one among many possibilities. They could easily change the direction of their geopolitical orientations if they do not receive the benefits expected from Moscow.
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Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024.
Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.
Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024.
Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.