The above is the title of the most recent book I have read. It was written by Ahmed Rashid, who is a Pakistani journalist, who also wrote, "Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia."
His premise is that poverty and hardline dictators in Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazahkstan) are causing populations in the volatile region of former Soviet republics to support the Islamic terrorist movements. This is probably not too far from the support these movements have gained in other parts of the world (Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Yemen, Indonesia, etc.).
It was a very interesting book, which allowed me to learn more about a very underreported part of the world, which I believe will be in the headlines in the years to come. I also believe that the way to help break this is to promote democracy in this region, such as what George Soros' organization is doing. Unfortunately, the United States has earned such a poor reputation that I am not sure our government can actively support any of these measure, but it must be perpetuated by the NGO (non-governmental organization) community.
However, with political and economic reforms, it seems likely we can break the backs of this scourge. The question is, can we break the back of men like Islam Karimov (the autocratic leader of Uzbekistan)?
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