2012-11-05 by Richard Weitz Uzbekistan is commonly thought to have the most powerful and capable military and especially internal security forces of the five Central Asian countries. The London-based IISS 2012 Military Balance estimates Uzbekistan’s military and security forces to be around 67,000 people, with 50,000 in the Army and…
2012-11-02 by Richard Weitz American policy toward Uzbekistan are driven by support for Afghan operations as well as energy policy. The main U.S. objectives in Uzbekistan and Central Asia are the following: Promoting these countries’ security against terrorist threats, Supporting the war in Afghanistan, Ensuring their sovereignty and autonomy from the…
2012-10-27 By Richard Weitz In the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the leaders of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, supported various measures to preserve economic, security, and other ties with the other former Soviet republics. Uzbekistan was a founding signer…
2012-10-23 by Richard Weitz One way Uzbekistan is responding to the new Central Asian environment is by moving closer to Kazakhstan. The two countries are the two most influential of the “stans,” having the largest land mass and population in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is also Kazakhstan’s major trading partner within Central…
10/20/12 by Richard Weitz Although less well known than Kazakhstan, the government of Uzbekistan also has strong nuclear nonproliferation credentials. The country’s leaders have accepted the legally binding arms control obligations of the former USSR, acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state, worked with the U.S.…
2012-10-19 by Richard Weitz Energy security represents a major force driving Beijing’s increased interest and involvement in Uzbekistan. A combination of a booming economy and declining domestic energy production has resulted in China’s importing an increasingly large percentage of its oil and natural gas. In particular, the PRC’s natural gas…
2012-10-14 by Richard Weitz With climate change comes conflict. The collapse of the Soviet Union left in its wake a serious fault line in Eur-Asia revolving around water and its scarcity. This security issue arose during my week-long visit to Uzbekistan last month and deserves a serious look. [caption id="attachment_46110"…
2012-10-12 By Richard Weitz Last month, I had the opportunity to spend a week in Uzbekistan meeting with government officials, think tank researchers, university faculty and students, and other members of the country’s national security community. Much of our discussion focused on Afghanistan, which I would like to summarize for the…
