By Mark N. Katz (11/5/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Saudi Arabia and OPEC have long sought to regulate world oil prices through adhering to production quotas. OPEC has frequently called upon the major non-OPEC producers (which include Russia, Mexico, and Norway) to “do their part” to support oil prices by cutting back on production when OPEC does so. Instead of complying with this request, however, the major non-OPEC producers have maintained or even expanded their production.By Roger N. McDermott (11/5/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: The National Guard constitutes part of the Kyrgyz armed forces and is placed under the control of the President of the Republic and it is part of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces (CRDF). It played a key role in the counter-insurgency campaign in the Batken region of Kyrgyzstan in 1999. It is tasked with the protection of foreign dignitaries visiting Kyrgyzstan, responsible for the security of critical infrastructure, clearing up in the aftermath of a natural disaster and crucially it fulfils a vital part of the country’s antiterrorist capabilities.By Maia Gvritishvili (11/5/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: The parliamentary elections were of great importance for Georgia. These elections were understood as a test of democracy which was all the more important as they formed a dress rehearsal for the Presidential Elections of 2005. Moreover, the parliamentary elections will bring forward the political spectrum that will govern the country in the post-Shevardnadze period.By Shahin Eghraghi (10/22/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: On October 13, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution which mandates ISAF to operate beyond its present Kabul boundaries. Germany and NATO have also given a green light for up to 450 German peacekeepers, a force separate from ISAF, to deploy to Kunduz in the north of the country as a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). The British already have a PRT presence in Mazar-e-Sharif with 72 men, and it is planned that they will be followed by others in up to eight different locations, including Herat and Kandahar.The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is a biweekly publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council, Washington DC., and the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm. For 15 years, the Analyst has brought cutting edge analysis of the region geared toward a practitioner audience.
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