News Digest
EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER BEGINS CENTRAL ASIA TOUR IN KAZAKHSTAN
By empty (3/16/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten arrived in Kazakhstan on 15 March at the start of a five-day trip during which he will also visit Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, Kazinform reported the same day. Patten\'s trip will focus on \"bilateral relations, the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, and the need to accelerate the process of political and economic reforms,\" according to a 12 March EU statement. Patten struck a note of cautious criticism in his initial remarks in Kazakhstan, warning political and business leaders that \"torture and other human rights violations, the restriction of fundamental freedoms.BOTH SIDES IN GEORGIAN STANDOFF ARM IN ANTICIPATION OF AGGRESSION
By empty (3/16/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Adjar Interior Minister Djemal Gogitidze told Interfax on 15 March that 3,000 Georgian troops backed by 12 tanks are poised to invade the autonomous republic, but that Adjar forces are capable of repelling any such aggression. Georgian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Nino Sturua told the same agency the same day that while some army units are on alert, none has been deployed to the border with Adjaria. Georgian State Security Minister Zurab Adeishvili claimed in Poti on 15 March that over the past three years Abashidze has created three special-forces units manned by former criminals with an estimated total strength of more than 1,000 men.RUSSIA\'S PUTIN SWEEPS TO VICTORY
By empty (3/15/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been swept back to power, after thrashing his rivals in Sunday\'s poll. With more than 99% of the ballots counted, Mr Putin had 71.2% support, while his nearest rival, Communist Party candidate Nikolai Kharitonov, had only 13.US \'KILL THREE\' IN AFGHAN BATTLE
By empty (3/15/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
US forces in Afghanistan say they have killed three militants and detained 13 in a raid on a cave in the southern province of Zabul. An American military spokesman said that dozens of US troops, including special forces, took part in the raid in Qalat on Saturday night. The spokesman said the operation was part of the latest offensive, codenamed Mountain Storm, against the Taleban.Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024.
Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.
Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024.
Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.