Central Asian countries for the past 100 years have been out of international political circles because they were part of the former USSR. Upon its collapse, five Central Asian countries — Uzbekistan, Kirghizia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan became independent. Since then, these countries have enjoyed international attention both for their strategic location and for their immense oil and natural gas resources. A number of political analysts believe that the US had an intention to step into Central Asia prior to the Sept. 11 attacks. Thus, the tragedy of Sept. 11, along with indications of the Al-Qaeda network, led to a heavy US military presence in Afghanistan, the immediate neighbor of many of those countries.
In the beginning, the US military campaign had two goals. The first was to destroy the Al-Qaeda network and the second to eliminate the Taleban which harbored the network. The ousting of the Taleban was a necessity since, in US opinion, it was an obstacle to any US presence in Central Asia.
In fact, despite the achievement of both goals, it seems that Washington is determined to continue its military campaign. That indicates that the US is keen about its presence in the region in order to serve its strategic interests, which include the following. First: Containing the nuclear race between India and Pakistan and exercising pressure to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
Second: Putting Russia on the sidelines by claiming that a partnership exists between Washington and Moscow. In fact, Washington’s success in gaining Russian participation in the war against terrorism may lead to a halt in Russian-Iranian military cooperation.
Third: Pressuring China, which is considered by the Americans as a threat to US superpower status. This pressure can be exerted by a permanent US presence in the region.
Fourth: Securing the largest share of oil in the Caspian Sea. Estimates say that the oil reserves are some 50 billion barrels and gas reserves about 250 billion barrels. These quantities could obviously provide whoever controls them with considerable economic power in the future.
The US military and economic presence in Central Asia is no illusion. Newsweek has indicated that the US is determined to increase its military presence in Central Asia despite opposition from Russia and China. This impression is supported by the construction of a large new airbase along with renovations under way on a number of airbases in Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
Newsweek stressed that US military mobilizations, movements and relocation of troops in Afghanistan are another sign of a long-term stay. The US is keen to secure a large share of Caspian Sea oil and gas to make up for its own shortfall. The last few decades have witnessed an increased oil demand by the US. In 1985, its oil imports reached 4,286 million barrels a day.
The US presence in Central Asia indicates that bilateral relations between the US and the countries in the region will soon be a reality. Thus, the US must invest in oil schemes to justify its presence on those countries. The time has come when we must think logically not emotionally about Central Asia. We must take into account the consequences of the Sept. 11 attacks. The US presence in Central Asia will increase tensions among all Asian countries. In addition, Russia and China will not stand helplessly on the sidelines as the US political and economic siege tightens around them. It is also likely that the Afghans will resist a prolonged US military presence in their country and so avoid becoming even more entangled in US policy.
