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2004-07-16 Central Asia
US yanks aid to Uzbekistan, a war on terror ally
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Posted by Dragon Fly 2004-07-16 13:02|| || Front Page|| [11128 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 maybe Bush really IS serious about democracy promotion. Interesting!
Posted by Liberalhawk 2004-07-16 1:25:55 PM||   2004-07-16 1:25:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Millionaire philanthropist George Soros's Open Society Institute "was invited to leave Uzbekistan," as President Islam Karimov put it

so it's not all bad
Posted by Frank G  2004-07-16 2:14:37 PM||   2004-07-16 2:14:37 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Mr. Rumsfeld thanked the country for its support ...and stressed that human rights are just one aspect of US-Uzbek relations. Taskent probably inferred that the US was giving military considerations higher priority than human rights concerns, Lewis says.

Rash inference, in the long term anyway.
Posted by jules 187 2004-07-16 2:40:27 PM||   2004-07-16 2:40:27 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 maybe Bush really IS serious about democracy promotion. Interesting!
No, it's not "interesting;" it's short sighted and unrealistic. No wonder Rumsfeld is annoyed with the typical airy-fairy bungling intervention of State Dept. Uzbekistan's location and its fossil fuel resources has great potential. Check out proven oil and natural gas reserves and how illicit drugs are transported thru this country. I'd suggest to you and GWB and State Dept. that "human rights" is not a huge priority in that country at this very moment in time.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/uz.html
Uzbekistan has a Sunni majority government, and the "oppression" has been directed at Muslims accused of practising extreme Wahabbism. And State Dept. thinks that if these wack-jobs get humane treatment [everyone can already vote there at age 18]the strains of Kumbaye will ring out in central Asia? Witholding US aid will just push Uzbekistan closer to Russia, who is becoming more KGB'ish and less democratic everyday.

Maybe if GWB is "interested" in the power of democracy - true democracy and not sham democracy on paper only -and how "democracy" can change a country's society and economy and attitudes to America, he should look in his own backyard-MEXICO. Why not start with a country whose feudal oligarchical social/political backwardness continues to have a huge negative impact on our country. Why not start with something easy? Why not hold back aid from our repressive anti-human rights unjust southern neighbor which has concentrated power in the hands of approx. 50 Mexican families, a country which has rampant 24/7 racism for the past 100 years to Mexicans with non-Spanish blood lines?

Is State Dept. suffering from far-sightedness? Can it only judge human rights abuses and poor examples of democracy in countries that are located an ocean and a continent away from our border?
Posted by rex 2004-07-16 3:38:32 PM||   2004-07-16 3:38:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Isnt not holding political prisoners rather more basic than instituting affirmative action for Mestizos?

We are of course not expecting rapid change to democracy in central asia, but are concerned with our initiatives wrt to Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi, etc. Our position in Uzbek was undermining that.

Posted by Liberalhawk 2004-07-16 4:51:12 PM||   2004-07-16 4:51:12 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 but are concerned with our initiatives wrt to Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi, etc. Our position in Uzbek was undermining that.
Our "initiatives" re: Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Tunisia...excuse me, what were these "initiatives" other than hear no evil, see no evil, talk no evil. Why can't the same "initiatives" cough, cough be taken with Uzbekistan? Our position in Uzbekistan should be exactly that at this time-strategic positioning-and forget about passing moral judgments about how a relatively pro-USA Sunni government treats its destructive extremist Wahhabi Muslim prisoners. Wacking them off makes 35 fewer Wahhabi extremists who might take pot shots at our troops in Afghanistan.

As for Mexico and its racist oligarchical government-I'd say, there's more hope for reforming that society by using the carrot and stick approach than reforming a Muslim country 10, 000 miles around the globe. It also might demonstrate that GWB is consistent and without prejudice re: lauding the power of democracy,if he's start applying what he preached to his dear friend, Presidente Foxie Loxie.
Posted by rex 2004-07-16 5:39:50 PM||   2004-07-16 5:39:50 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 Perfection, as an extreme, must be economized, thus it is so rare.
Posted by .com 2004-07-16 5:43:54 PM||   2004-07-16 5:43:54 PM|| Front Page Top

16:51 Tom
16:25 Tom
15:43 Anonymous6534
10:11 Anonymous6360
07:04 Howard UK
06:53 Sock Puppet of Doom
06:14 Travis
21:11 cingold
20:33 rex
20:13 cingold
10:16 raptor
09:34 Frank G
09:32 raptor
00:44 Mark Espinola
00:41 CrazyFool
00:36 Zenster
00:09 trailing wife
23:56 rex
23:55 Mike Kozlowski
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23:43 Mike Kozlowski
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