By Stephen Blank (8/13/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: It is well known that the Turkish government failed to have the U.S. request for assistance and for the right to station U.By Svante E. Cornell (8/13/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Ilham Aliyev has long been groomed for the Presidency in Azerbaijan. His appointment to the positions of first deputy chairman of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, first vice president of the state oil company (SOCAR), president of the National Olympic Committee, and Member of Parliament and head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Council of Europe indicated that President Aliyev was creating opportunities for his son to gain experience in state management and expand his networking both in the international arena and within the ruling elite. Indeed, within ten years of Aliyev’s Presidency, Ilham transformed from an unknown person to many in the country to one of the key leaders in the government.By Rahimullah Yusufzai (8/13/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: By retreating from major cities instead of putting up a last stand in late 2001, the Taliban were able to save most of their fighters and hide away some of their weapons –a wise move, since the Taliban could have faced decimation at the hands of the superior fighting machines of the U.S..By Matthew Oresman and Daniel Steingart (7/30/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Islam came to Chechnya only 300 years ago, as the Russian Empire was expanding south in the Caucasus Mountains, and spread quickly through Chechnya and Ingushetia. It was soon capitalized upon as a vehicle of mobilization against Russian rule. The Islam that took hold in Chechnya was primarily Sufi, a spiritual Islam that blended well with the Chechens’ own native beliefs and not the austere Wahhabism primarily associated with Saudi Arabia and radical Islamist movements.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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