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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia | ||
| Hilde also manages to thank Tajiks | ||
| 2011-10-23 | ||
| DUSHANBE: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tajikistan on Saturday that efforts to crack down on religious freedom might backfire and increase sympathy for radical views that could threaten stability in the Central Asian country. Clinton, who met Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon on a trip to thank two Central Asian states for their cooperation in the US-led war in neighboring Afghanistan, said freedom of religious expression was tied to the region's future security. US officials said Clinton's Central Asian trip, her second to the region in less than 12 months, was aimed in a large part at thanking Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for their assistance with the Afghan conflict. They said she was also seeking to broaden a relationship giving the United States an important "back door" into Afghanistan and an alternative supply route that could prove vital if US ties with its main ally in the region, Pakistan, unravel. Both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are part of what Washington calls the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), a supply line for US-led forces fighting the Taleban that also stretches through Russia, Latvia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. The NDN is increasingly important as US ties with Pakistan come under strain over Washington's charges that elements of the Pakistani government have links to Islamist militants blamed for attacks on US forces in Afghanistan.
"We've always said that we'd prefer to use the Pakistan routes because it's cheaper, it's shorter ... but still, it's a good thing to have," a senior US official told reporters traveling with Clinton. "With our relations with Pakistan, we always have to be prepared should they decide that they either want to restrict our access or even, in the worst case, close it off," the official said. "We need to be prepared to move more through Central Asia if necessary." The NDN route is sensitive in the region, particularly in Uzbekistan, where officials fear that too much publicity over their assistance to the US-led effort in Afghanistan could open them to attack from militants, the official said.
He did say, however, that the United States was not seeking to regain access to Uzbekistan's Karshi-Khanabad military base. The United States was evicted from the base in 2005 after sharp criticism of Karimov's government for shooting into crowds that took to the streets in the city of Andizhan. Witnesses say hundreds were killed when troops opened fire. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |