By Rizwan Zeb (3/24/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: Since September 11, 2001 and the American attacks on Afghanistan, many have claimed that South Waziristan, right across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, is a readily available hideout for Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. Pakistan, being a frontline state in this ongoing war against terrorism and a major U.S.

By Robert M. Cutler (3/24/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: In 1996 a group of countries called the Shanghai five organized together for the purpose of delimiting and demilitarizing the international borders of the former Soviet territory with China, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Agreements about how to proceed with the task were reached in 1997, and the actual work has continued since then. In 1998, the five countries established annual summits and began to shift their focus to “anti-terrorism”, a codeword they used before September 2001 to signify the containment of domestic insurgencies.

By Stephen Blank (3/24/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: The State Department’s annual human rights report continues to rank Uzbekistan as being among the worst offenders in this regard. Increasingly frustrated with Uzbekistan, Congress has legislated language in the Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs Appropriations Act for Fiscal year (FY) 2004 stating that the funds appropriated by this act will only be made available to the Uzbek government if the Secretary of State determines and reports that it is making progress on the human rights commitments it made to Washington in the Declaration of Strategic Partnership and Cooperation of 2002. Failure to obtain such certification means that the State Department will terminate all the aid programs it administers, Foreign Military Financing, International Military Education and Training Act funds etc.