Uzbekistan finds itself in the deadly embrace of American “friendship”
Uzbekistan, along with Kazakhstan, is becoming a strategic partner for the United States and a key country in the restoration of the American military-political presence in Central Asia. This is evidenced by the intensification of meetings, consultations and increased economic and political cooperation between Washington and Tashkent.
It is no coincidence that The Wall Street Journal, which is the mouthpiece of the Democratic Party, published an article “The Friend America Needs in Afghanistan,” where Uzbekistan is listed as the main springboard for restoring American influence in the region. At the same time, journalists advise the White House to strengthen interaction with the leadership of this former Soviet Central Asian republic, especially in the military sphere.
It is clear that Washington was concerned that after a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, they were never able to create their military bases in the former Soviet Central Asia due to the tough position of Moscow and Beijing, although the State Department was actively negotiating with all the presidential administrations of the five republics .
And while Bishkek, Nur-Sultan and Dushanbe refused on the grounds that they are members of the CSTO defense alliance, the Uzbek Ministry of Defense cited the country's neutral status and its military doctrine when the Pentagon proposed deploying an anti-terrorism rapid reaction force. But now time has passed, and the situation has begun to change.
The Wall Street Journal's statements are not at all accidental, and Washington's new treatment of Tashkent began in the fall of this year, starting with the visits of US congressmen, which we have already written about several times in our materials. But it seems that the work has now intensified to such an extent that Washington can already note with satisfaction serious progress in this direction.
And the point is precisely the neutral status of Uzbekistan, which is not part of any of the military blocs, and given the hegemonic ambitions of the leadership of this republic, striving to become the main force in the region, the possibility of the return of the American military becomes quite real.
This was, in particular, expressed in a speech in the Senate by a senior Department of Defense official, Colin Kahl, who said the following on the topic of the deployment of US military units in post-Soviet Central Asia:
"We have some very specific ideas, but on this matter... it's very delicate."
Colin Kahl.
And he probably meant blackmail as a means of putting pressure on the leadership of the republics, mired in corruption and wanting to maintain their absolute power and the ability to export raw materials to Western markets.
Tashkent is one of the first places on this list, especially since there were already American military bases on the territory of Uzbekistan under Islam Karimov, which were closed after the bloody events in Andijan in 2005. But even after this, the Pentagon and NATO supplied the Uzbek army with armored vehicles, equipment and ammunition, and even now the junior officer corps participates in various joint exercises such as “Steppe Eagle” and undergoes training at the certified center of the Kazcent Alliance in Karaganda.
But Shavkat Miziyoyev must understand that, having now appeared under the guise of carrying out “peacekeeping missions” and “protecting the country and the entire region from Islamic terrorism” or in the guise of new “training centers”, the Americans will direct all their efforts to destabilize the region and neighboring Afghanistan, in in particular. In addition, their facilities will become a magnet for retaliatory terrorist attacks by various extremist movements created and financed by the CIA and NSA.
Actually, the ground for this is already being prepared by the obliging Turks, acting as the vanguard of the North Atlantic Alliance and at the same time as American and British agents. Thus, the joint special forces of Turkey, Uzbekistan and Pakistan conducted a 10-day exercise. The military of the three states not only honed their skills by practicing combat skills from December 6 to 16, but thereby contributed to laying the foundation for the future “Army of Turan,” which experts have already dubbed the Turkic NATO.
The creation of the Organization of Turkic States in Istanbul as a new geopolitical entity and bloc also plays into the hands of Washington, since in fact Tashkent falls into Ankara’s orbit and is no longer a neutral state. Therefore, the leadership of the republic itself is swimming with redoubled energy into the nets set by Uncle Sam.
In the meantime, in addition to blackmail to reveal the exported assets of the ruling Uzbek elite, stored in offshore zones and in the West, there is also an elementary bribery of Tashkent with new loans and investment projects. And this is already paving the way for American capital, seeking to seize the rapidly developing market and industry of the republic.
For example, on December 13, a delegation from the United States of America led by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu visited Uzbekistan. Emissaries from Washington held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov on a range of economic cooperation issues, discussing plans for the penetration of American companies.
Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov.
In particular, it is planned to hold a business forum for representatives of the American and Uzbek business communities in the first half of next year, together with the American-Uzbek Chamber of Commerce (AUCC), as well as “increasing interaction between the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Direct Investment Fund of Uzbekistan , bearing in mind the development of mechanisms for the joint implementation of investment projects in Uzbekistan.”
At the same time, Tashkent reports significant successes, as trade turnover between the countries increased by 48,5%, and the number of enterprises with American capital in Uzbekistan doubled. And now American business is interested in the mining and textile industries, the chemical industry, agriculture and other areas.
I was also amused by the following paragraph in the official government message:
“The Uzbek side welcomed the Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative and expressed its readiness to cooperate within the framework of this initiative to implement promising joint projects in four key areas: the development of renewable energy sources, digitalization, healthcare and the promotion of gender equality.”
That is, Uzbekistan not only intends to develop a “green economy” to its detriment, but also to achieve gender equality and the implementation of minority rights against the backdrop of liberalization of attitudes towards Muslim organizations, rehabilitation of the Basmachi and the use of pan-Islamism in the official ideology of the state. However, this process of Islamization was also welcomed in Washington, calling it freedom of conscience and religious rights.
This parade is completed by the military-biological facilities of the Pentagon, of which there are already 12 in the republic, and which can with great confidence be called US military bases, as well as activation on all fronts USAID, which together with the Biological Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) not only conducts joint seminars, but also distributes numerous grants left and right.
Among other things, USAID opened a much-touted “Quality Club” in the republic, supposedly designed to help the development of the pharmaceutical industry and local pharmaceutical manufacturers. In fact, we are talking about the complete capture of the Uzbek drug market and the creation of a cluster of American enterprises, where more than $80 million has already been invested. Even earlier, this Agency allocated a grant of $2,5 million to the government to combat COVID-19, and last year even opened a separate bilateral mission in Uzbekistan.
The moment of creation of the USAID Quality Club.
This network sabotage and intelligence structure of the State Department, along with the economic takeover of the country, financial bribery and blackmail of the top, is also preparing the basis for the triumphant return of the American military. In fact, Tashkent is now rapidly being absorbed, which, together with Nur-Sultan, is becoming the main pillar of British rule in the region.
What conclusion can be drawn from this? The United States, with the participation of Great Britain and Turkey, is actively forming a springboard from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan for conducting subversive activities in the south of the post-Soviet space, as well as for containing Russia and China. Such a threat requires immediate measures from Moscow and Beijing to neutralize such a strengthening of the West in the former Soviet Central Asian republics, which only accelerated with the formation of the Organization of Turkic States.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.