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ANALYSIS-Central Asia gains as US seeks help in Afghan
war
By Sebastian Alison
TASHKENT, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Authoritarianism can bring big rewards, the leaders of ex-Soviet Central Asia are learning as they queue up to offer ever more support to the U.S.-led anti- terror coalition's campaign in Afghanistan.
Not least because leaders with sweeping powers, including control of the media, do not have to worry much about public opinion -- something for which the U.S. State Department used frequently to chide Central Asia's rulers.
And this comparative freedom from democratic constraints is enabling them to cooperate with the U.S. effort to drive out the ruling Taliban and its guest Osama bin Laden, in return for anticipated benefits, without risking a populist backlash.
They are having less trouble than Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in 1999 and faces rising domestic opposition after throwing his weight behind the coalition.
The leaders of three other Afghan neighbours -- Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan -- are making it ever clearer they expect rewards for their efforts in backing the coalition.
On Tuesday Lynn Pascoe, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state, met Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov. After the meeting Rakhmonov's spokesman spoke purely of economic issues.
"Rakhmonov expressed interest in boosting...mutually beneficial economic cooperation with the U.S., especially in the field of attracting American investment," he said.
"In the opinion of Rakhmonov, the time has come to raise economic relations between Tajikistan and the U.S. to a qualitatively new level."
The following day, Rakhmonov said U.S. forces were welcome to use three airbases in Tajikistan but warned that not all were ready for immediate operational use, raising the possibility that the United States may have to pay to upgrade them.
UZBEK OFFERS
Uzbekistan, quick off the mark to allow 1,000 or more U.S. troops to use an airbase, officially for humanitarian and search and rescue operations only, is another country whose human rights record has been much criticised by its new ally.
But despite this, U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has visited Tashkent twice in the last month, enhancing President Islam Karimov's international prestige.
Ex-Soviet Central Asia, with a tradition of secularism after decades of atheistic Soviet rule, sees itself as a vital buffer between extremism and religious fundamentalism to its south, and Russia and Europe to the north and west. Karimov calls these problems the greatest threat to regional security.
So he is pleased to help the U.S. eliminate them -- but does not want attention drawn to this fact, fearful of alienating Uzbekistan's burgeoning Islamic movements, which political analysts say are attracting support because of poverty and the regime's authoritarianism.
As a result, U.S.-Uzbek ties are growing but the media largely ignores Uzbekistan's role in the war.
State television news on Thursday carried features on the successes of a cardboard factory and the opening of a new car showroom, but precious little on Uzbekistan as a front-line state.
KAZAKH CONCERNS
Kazakhstan, by far the most economically liberal and successful of the five "Stans," is concerned about the impact of the war on its economy more than in religious terms, as Islam has shown scant revival there after the Soviet collapse.
In October President Nursultan Nazarbayev warned that the war could hamper booming economic growth.
On Thursday, it became the latest of the former Soviet Central Asian republics to reveal it was talking to the Pentagon about a role in airstrikes.
"U.S. military officials are now studying with us the possibility of boosting our military and technical cooperation in fighting terrorism," presidential national security advisor Altynbek Sarsenbayev told Reuters.
And with Kazakhstan a major oil and gas power and already host to many of the biggest U.S. oil companies, U.S. military aid now may well lead to increased U.S. involvement in the Kazakh economy, to the benefit of both sides.
Central Asian leaders find it much easier to respond immediately to U.S. requests for assistance than heads of state in countries where parliament and public opinion play a greater role. And Washington has not been slow to notice.
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