After the Events of “9-11”

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and may be broadly categorized chronologically as follows:

4.2.3.1 After the Disintegration of the Soviet Union

That new U.S. strategy in Central Asia was mainly to support independent tendencies among those countries in the region in regard to their relationship to Russia, to include such countries into Western economic and political systems, and to assist in the development of oil resources in the region.

During the period of 1995 to 1999, the United States adopted large-scale measures to comprehensively strengthen cooperation with Central Asian countries, especially using North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to penetrate into Central Asia subsequently causing the loss of Russia’s prior absolute advantage in the region. In 1997 the United States developed a new strategy for Central Asia, to yet further increase its penetration into the region, making progress in achieving cooperation in various fields, especially in the field of military, security and intelligence cooperation. That new U.S. strategy in Central Asia was mainly to support independent tendencies among those countries in the region in regard to their relationship to Russia, to include such countries into Western economic and political systems, and to assist in the development of efforts to exploit oil resources in the region. This last initiative particularly was aimed at making the region an American strategic energy base for the 21st century. Also the main purpose of these measures was to contain and weaken the influence of Russia and Iran in the region, while gradually transforming the region into an "area of strategic interests" for America. ¹⁶¹

4.2.3.2 After the Events of “9-11”

The United States took advantage of the events of “9-11” when it invaded Taliban-ruled

161 Zhao, Xiaoshuo. “An Analysis of the Strategic Competition between the US and Russia in the Middle East,”

Xinjiang’s philosophy and social sciences network, May 16, 2012, available at:

http://big5.xjass.com/zy/content/2012-05/16/content_232498.htm, (accessed:20140105).

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Afghanistan which allowed it direct access to Central Asia. The United States used “the War on Terrorism’’ in Afghanistan as a context to secure military bases in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and other countries. America’s military presence in Central Asia has directly challenged Russia’s traditional sphere of influence. The remarkable American influence is to weaken Russian efforts at integration between Central Asia and Russia, especially the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The aim of U.S. was achieved by implementing a policy of assisting the allied regimes in the region with military assistance, economic aid, information exchange and training of their security sector. Besides, by establishing the Baku–

Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline project, the diversification of export route of Central Asian energy can be achieved.

The events of "9-11" have provided the United States unprecedented opportunities and conditions to expand its influence in Central Asia. The United States took advantage of this when it invaded Taliban-ruled Afghanistan which allowed it direct access to Central Asia. The United States has since been working to secure military bases and establish military power in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and other countries, and publicly stated that even after the so-called

“War on Terrorism” ends they will not abandon Central Asia. America’s military presence in Central Asia has directly challenged Russia’s stance that it is the only foreign power that may deploy military forces in Central Asia, which has been a major breakthrough for the United States challenging Russia's traditional sphere of influence. ¹⁶²

In addition to continuing efforts to support independent tendencies among the Central Asia countries vis-à-vis Russia, after the events of 911, there have been various degrees of change in the relationships between the US and the Central Asian countries, which overall served to weaken then recent Russian efforts at integration between Central Asia and Russia, and reduced the effects of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). ¹⁶³

162 Giragosian, Richard. “The Strategic Central Asian Arena,” China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, Volume 4, No. 1 (2006): 133-153, available at:

http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/cef/quarterly/february_2006/richard_giragosian.pdf, (accessed:

20140518).

163 Zhao, Xiaoshuo. “An Analysis of the Strategic Competition between the US and Russia in the Middle East,”

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Post-911 the US developed a new strategy in part of its so-called “War on Terrorism”

which also placed crucial emphasis on strategy objectives and set goals for the Central Asia region, where the US entered a closer partnership with Uzbekistan’s regime and had three other main points of focus. ¹⁶⁴ The first of these was to completely include Central Asia into America and its European and Asian allies' security architecture and to actualize the plan to station elements of the U.S. military within the region. Using the war in Afghanistan as a pretext, the U.S. military gained (at least for some time) the right to officially station troops in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, and also obtained a right of temporary use of

Kazakhstan’s air force facilities when necessary.

The second of these was to strengthen the ability of the Central Asian governments to rule to prevent recurrences or similar events such as the Islamic Revolution in Iran or the radicalization of Taliban Afghanistan, which was itself a CIA project that got out of control.

Hence, Uzbekistan’s Islam Karimov could for some time prior to the Andijan Massacre, obtain a non-ending line of credit from America so long as his opponents were so-called Islamic fundamentalists, a tactic employed by many Third World dictators.¹⁶⁵

This aim was achieved by implementing a policy of assisting the allied regimes in the region with military assistance, economic aid, information exchange and training of their security sector. As a case in point, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood was not a terrorist organization but rather just an ordinary Islamic-based political opposition group. Yet the former dictator of Egypt, ousted President Hosni Mubarak, had received backing from Western governments previously under the pretext of labeling as terrorists opposition groups

Xinjiang’s philosophy and social sciences network, May 16, 2012, available at:

http://big5.xjass.com/zy/content/2012-05/16/content_232498.htm, (accessed:20140212).

164 劉蕭翔、郭武平，「上海合作組織與俄中在中亞競合關係」，問題與研究 3 (台北: 2005): 137-138。[Kwo, Wuping and ShiauShyang Liou. Shanghaihezuozuzhi Yu E Zhong Zai Zhongya Jinghe Guanxi (Competition and Cooperation between Russia and China in Central Asia and "Shanghai Co-operation Organization": Analytical View from International Regime) Wenti Yu Yanjiu (Issues & Studies) 3 (Taipei: 2005): 137-138.]

165 Ambrosio, Thomas. Authoritarian Backlash: Russian Resistance to Democratization in the Former Soviet Union (Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2009), p. 166.

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such as the Muslim Brotherhood through arrest and imprisonment, framing them to avoid a popular overthrow of a deeply unpopular regime. ¹⁶⁶

The third of these was to accelerate the development and export of Central Asian energy. This goal was in part achieved by the implementation of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline project, connecting Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan and Ceyhan, a port on the south-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, via Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.

Since the independence of the five Central Asian countries, the United States has been actively involved in Central Asian affairs, and done so through multiple channels aiming to strengthen U.S. relations with Central Asian countries. ¹⁶⁷

Among the key measures of this involvement via bi- and multilateral frameworks was through the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program initiated under the auspices of NATO, by which it expanded military exchanges and cooperation with the Central Asian countries, is the most important multilateral mechanism in the spread of American influence in Central Asia.

168

While diplomatically the US has always stressed US support of the five Central Asian countries to maintain independent sovereignty and territorial integrity, US involvement has also extended to the signing of a series of oil, natural gas, natural resources and pipeline construction development contracts by U.S.-led international energy companies and Central Asian governments or their state-owned energy companies, as well as granting a variety of social and economic assistance by the US to help the five Central Asian countries with

166 “Egypt: Terrorist Tag Politically Driven,” Human Rights Watch, Dec 28, 2013, available at:

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/12/28/egypt-terrorist-tag-politically-driven, (accessed:20140518)

167 張錫模，中亞區域安全淨評估（台北：財團法人兩岸交流遠景基金會，2004 年），頁 103。[Chang, Hsimo.

Zhongya Quyuanquan Jingpinggu (Net assessment of regional security in Central Asia): Prospect Foundation Publishing, (Taipei, 2004), p. 103.]

168 “Beyond Afghanistan NATO's partnership with Central Asia and South Caucasus: A tangled partnership?,”

Science Direct, Jan, 2014, available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1879366513000274, (accessed: 20140518).

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economic and social development through various international organizations and U.S.

government-related agencies. ¹⁶⁹