By Claes Levinsson and Ingvar Svanberg (2/16/2000 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: In the 17^th century the Kazakh territory became a buffer between Russia and China, the two expanding empires of the Eurasian continent. However, after the conclusion of the Protocol of Tarbagatai in 1864, the Kazakh borders were delineated between Russia and China. The Russians regarded the provisional guard posts the Chinese had established on the steppe to prevent the nomads from moving into the contemporary Xinjiang region, as the actual border.

By Julie Sirrs (2/16/2000 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: Although the two airline hijackings were similar in several respects, it is the differences between the two incidents that are more telling. Both planes made several stops before reaching their final destination and poor airport security, in Katmandu and Kabul, were largely to blame for allowing the hijackings to occur. But as to the differences between the two hijacking incidences, the most glaring was the Taliban’s response.

By Dr. Robert M. Cutler (2/16/2000 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: In 1993–1994, the World Bank and the IMF strongly supported Uzbekistan's impressive fiscal policy. However, a poor cotton harvest and lack of hard currency reserves led the authorities to increase government control over the national currency, the som. The Central Bank sharply limited and continues to limit the amount of cash soms in circulation.