Uzbekistan and the United States: Authoritarianism, Islamism and Washington's Security Agenda by Shahram Akbarzadeh

Author:Shahram Akbarzadeh [Akbarzadeh, Shahram]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781842774236
Google: sRRjDgAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 202503
Publisher: Zed Books
Published: 2005-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

Handling Russian Concerns

The formalisation of the US–Uzbek strategic partnership offered Tashkent an opportunity to make a long-sought readjustment in its relations with Moscow. President Karimov was a vocal critic of Russia’s imperial ‘hangover’ in relation to Central Asia and, as with Uzbek–Tajik relations, was frustrated by the way its neighbours kowtowed to Moscow. But the arrival of the United States on the scene and the subsequent relationship that evolved between Tashkent and Washington have emboldened the Uzbek leadership. They show no inhibition in the way they reject Russia’s objections to the new strategic realities in Central Asia. For example, President Karimov, responding to reports that Moscow asked to be consulted before Tashkent decided to allow US troops onto Uzbek soil, stated that Russian leaders ‘do not like the fact that Uzbekistan is carrying out its own independent policy.… But let me say once again that when the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan in 1979, starting a big war, no one asked for our approval.’26 According to Karimov, Russia only offered ‘vague promises’ to fight Islamic terrorism in the late 1990s when Tashkent sought international assistance to combat the IMU, whereas the United States delivered on its promise; and Tashkent was not going to forget that disparity. In an interview, Karimov publicly mocked Russia for its inability to lead the CIS Collective Security Treaty in an effective campaign against Islamists:

In CIS structures we talked, created quick reaction detachments, signed agreements and thousands of documents, etc. [But] practically, it was the United States and its coalition that destroyed terrorist bases in Afghanistan. It is pointless to make oneself seem important. We should consider who played which part and who played the main role. I say that the United States played a decisive role [with] their determination, the exemplary professionalism of their soldiers and level of their armaments. Everybody else played secondary roles.27

This new boost to Uzbek self-confidence has given Russian leaders more cause for concern, to the extent that Russian analysts and commentators openly question President Vladimir Putin’s coy position in relation to the American force deployment in Central Asia. According to the Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the arrival of every American soldier in Uzbekistan chips away at Russia’s influence in the region.28 This concern was shared by many Russian deputies in the Duma where a motion was put to the vote, condemning the US presence in Uzbekistan at the height of the military campaign against the Taliban. This motion was convincingly defeated, but it still received 136 votes from 38 per cent of Duma deputies, reflecting the extent of unease in the Russian leadership.29 It was perhaps in response to this sentiment that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ivanov insisted that the US forces in Central Asia will have to leave once their task of defeating terrorism was accomplished.30

Washington’s response to the simmering anxiety in Moscow has been to downplay the long-term implications of its commitment to Central Asia in order to preserve the international coalition in the ‘war on terror’. While on

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