KAZAKH-U.S. MILITARY-POLITICAL COOPERATION IN THE CONTEXT OF U.S. GEOPOLITICAL INTERESTS IN CENTRAL ASIA
Abstract
As is known, Central Asia is an important strategic element of the U.S.’s foreign policy. It is interesting both from the energy perspective and in the context of Washington’s expanding geopolitical influence in the region.
Today, the U.S.’s key objectives in Central Asia are as follows: First, establishment of dominant positions in Central Asia. The Washington administration is striving to assert its dominance in Central Asia by playing on the contradictions between the countries in the region, on the one hand, and Russia and China, on the other. U.S. interests would be best served by the following scenario: The maximum possible weakening of Russia and maintaining a balance of forces between the Central Asian states without any one of them playing a dominant role. This is a long-term priority. Military-political rapprochement with one or several Central Asian countries is essential for the implementation of U.S. plans.
Second, broader access to Central Asia’s energy resources is one of the most powerful incentives for the U.S.’s foreign policy. In this context, U.S. military presence in Afghanistan increases the chances of the successful implementation of U.S. lobbied south- and west-bound pipeline projects in Central Asia.
Third, advancement of Western democratic ideals and values is an important U.S. priority in Central Asia, as, incidentally, in other parts of the world. It is an open secret that the U.S.’s apparently democratic slogans oftentimes serve as a cover for rather pragmatic goals, specifically, increasing other countries’ loyalty to U.S. foreign policy that often does not conform to the rules of international law and looks openly aggressive. This interest is usually secured by financing various nongovernmental organizations and media outlets on the part of American private and state foundations. Consider: On 1 March 2006, a House subcommittee endorsed a Central Asian Democracy Act, under which $188 million was earmarked for support of democracy in all five Central Asian states in 2006 and following years.1 Thus, U.S. interests in Central Asia can be subdivided into three main groups— military-political, economic, and ideological, which are achieved by expanding contacts with the Central Asian states in all spheres. Military-political cooperation is one of the main priority areas for the United States, which is due to the increasing role that the fight against international terrorism plays in Washington’s foreign policy. As a result, this aspect of U.S. relations with other countries has a most profound impact on the transformation of global political processes
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References
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See: NATO i Tsentral’naia Azia: regional’naia i natsional’naia bezopasnost’ i strategicheskoe partnertsvo, Almaty,2003, p. 165.
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