By Zoya Pylenko (8/23/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

In a way, Tajikistan has benefited from its location north of Afghanistan. With international attention to Afghanistan increasing after the fall of the Taliban in November 2001, Tajikistan also came into the spotlight. International organizations, NGOs, foreign embassies and some investors started flocking to Dushanbe.

By Kakha Jibladze (8/23/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

With the decisive move that the operation constituted, President Mikheil Saakashvili proved that the country has severed ties with the Shevardnadze era. During the government of Former President Eduard Shevardnadze, the Georgian government had little to no control over its territories and little ambition to rein them in. Strong regional leaders like Emzari Kvitsiani ruled small fiefdoms with little interference from Tbilisi.

By Alman Mir Ismail (7/26/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

This revelation is very sensational and adds more spice to Mamedov’s trial. He is accused of murdering and kidnapping famous Azerbaijani businessmen and politicians and their relatives for a period of more than seven years, while serving as the chief investigator of the Interior Ministry’s Criminal Investigation Department with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Mamedov was arrested in March 2005 by the special services of the Ministry of National Security after kidnapping the wife of one of the leading bankers in the country.