[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 48 (Thursday, April 25, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3431-S3432]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ESSAY BY LELAND MILLER

 Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, recently I was asked by a 
constituent of mine, Mr. Marshall Miller, if I would seek to have an 
essay on Central Asia that was written by his son, Leland, reprinted in 
the Congressional Record. Leland Miller is a second year law student at 
the University of Virginia. I ask that Mr. Miller's essay be printed in 
the Record.
  The essay follows:

           Keeping Central Asia's Kleptocrats at Arm's Length

                         (By Leland R. Miller)

       As American planes take off from Uzbek airstrips to provide 
     support for the war against the Taliban, another conflict is 
     occurring nearby, underneath the radar of the American media. 
     Kazakhstan, the largest territory in Central Asia, is 
     undergoing a palace coup. Yet few in Washington seem to know 
     or care.
       As the only major area on earth that is still ``up for 
     grabs,'' Central Asia may very well become a key geopolitical 
     battleground of the 21st century. This is nothing new. In the 
     early 20th century, British strategist Sir Halford J. 
     Mackinder proclaimed that whoever controls Central Asia has 
     the key to world domination. Yet a century later, it is 
     almost an afterthought in American strategic thinking.
       This is a major mistake, the result of two phenomena. 
     First, the war in Afghanistan has convinced U.S. policy 
     makers that the need for support--both rhetorical and 
     substantive--from Central Asian regimes trumps all other 
     considerations.
       Second, the promise of the Caspian oil basin and other 
     large business opportunities in the lucrative Central Asian 
     energy markets have seduced Washington into turning a blind 
     eye towards whom we are dealing with.
       As a result of these dual factors, America is walking into 
     a dangerous trap. As we open our arms to these unstable and 
     authoritarian Central Asian regimes, they are gradually 
     gaining the status not just of America's temporary allies but 
     as our friends. This is a disastrous betrayal of U.S. 
     interests. Granted, the promise of quick rewards is enticing. 
     However, like all Faustian bargains, the sacrifice could be 
     considerable.
       Perhaps no country sings this siren song more effectively 
     than Kazakhstan. Although it is one of the world's poorest 
     countries, its president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is ranked as 
     the eighth richest man in the world. The reason? He and his 
     two venal sons-in-law have run Kazakhstan as a family 
     business. The family has sustained itself through gross 
     corruption and the ruthless exploitation of would-be foreign 
     investors.
       The Kazakh leaders entice investments or loans, take over 
     the investments under some pretext, then ``sell the same 
     horse'' again to someone else. With abundant oil, uranium, 
     and other resources, the country always seems able to find 
     another group of gullible suitors. If that fails, pseudo-
     investments can be induced to cover up money laundering from 
     the Russian mafia.
       The recent crisis in Kazakhstan only reinforces this image. 
     It began when Rakhat Aliyev, son-in-law to President 
     Nursultan Nazabayev, was forced to resign his position as 
     deputy chairman of the National Security Committee after 
     reportedly making an Absalom-like run at his father-in-law's 
     authority. He re-emerged just days later as the new head of 
     the presidential guard, seemingly unscathed, but he had 
     driven the first big split in the ruling family. His 
     detractors used this opening to form a new party, Democratic 
     Choice.
       While some insiders have suggested that this new group may 
     be nothing less than a second tier of crooks fighting Aliyev 
     for a bigger piece of the pie, the government reacted 
     swiftly. Prime Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev, a Nazarbayev 
     crony, angrily demanded (and received) the resignations of 
     four top cabinet members, all of whom were founding members 
     of the new party. Tokayev's justification?: ``All those 
     disagreeing with our policy and wishing to participate in 
     political movements should resign.''
       Perhaps no one outside of the palace in Astana knows what's 
     really going on. But in the world of Kazakh politics, it 
     matters little whether this battle was an intrafamily fight 
     for power or simply a battle amongst politicians unhappy with 
     the current division of spoils. Either way, this is clearly 
     not a regime that America should be too identified with.
       True, Kazakhstan does draw some favorable comparisons, but 
     only when contrasted with its neighbors. The fact is, Central 
     Asian governments are among the most corrupt and repressive 
     regimes in the world. Most inherited the apparatuses of their 
     communist predecessors and many have been just as ruthless in 
     wielding it. Most, like Nazarbayev's and Turkmenbashi's of 
     Turkmenistan, are even extensions of the same communist party 
     structure that they allegedly replaced.
       Autocratic and corrupt governance is the rule, not the 
     exception, in Central Asia. The lack of available political 
     channels is so endemic in these countries that frustrated 
     citizens are offered but two choices: attempt to mobilize 
     politically, despite the obvious barriers, or else turn to 
     extra-political means of empowerment.
       It is this second possibility that so desperately deserves 
     U.S. attention. Across Central Asia, ethnic and religious 
     differences among the populations constitute a

[[Page S3432]]

     sizable obstacle to stability and democratic governance. 
     Unlike the Balkans, however, it is not an insurmountable one.
       Despite the pervasive following of Islam in the region, 
     religious extremism does not have the same roots in Central 
     Asia that it does in other parts of the world. Radical 
     groups, such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (whose 
     leader, Jumaboi Khojiev Namangani, was reportedly killed 
     fighting in Afghanistan--some sources say he has merely gone 
     into hiding) are fortunately still the exception.
       However, this could certainly change if repressive regimes 
     continue to kindle the flames of religious extremism by 
     stifling virtually all other opportunities for political 
     voice. The horrors of Algeria should not be replicated in 
     Uzbekistan or Tajikistan.
       Situated in the middle of Russia, China, and India, and 
     with virtually untapped energy potential, Central Asia would 
     be an area of importance to the United States even under the 
     best of circumstances. However, the War on Terror has now 
     considerably upped the ante. Support for the cause of Muslim 
     fundamentalism in Central Asia not only threatens the 
     region's stability, but is sure to mean more fuel for a 
     global jihad. As the events of 9/11 have made clear, America 
     has as much reason to fear that development as any of the 
     regimes themselves.
       The next generation of America's leaders must not be made 
     apologists for today's policies aimed at the short-term and 
     short-sighted advancement of U.S. interests. This means 
     avoiding marriages of convenience with repressive Central 
     Asian regimes that will inevitably prove harmful to the 
     nation's future.
       The New Great Game in Central Asia is very much a battle of 
     good against evil. Democracy, not Islamic extremism, must 
     fill the political void. While the U.S. has no role in 
     fomenting or aiding these ``coups of the apparatchiks,'' 
     Americans are still beholden to one obligation: We need to at 
     least make sure we are not rooting for the wrong 
     side.

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