Asia blog

Two car bombs exploded today in Makhachkala, the capital of Daghestan. But what’s interesting here isn’t the tragedy of the bombs—that’s something that almost goes without saying, and is difficult to assess from the U.S.—but rather how Russia is responding to the various endemic insurgencies in the Caucasus. From the article:
The Kremlin has pledged to [...]
this is bogus, who would think

I have a new piece up at PBS.
Dagestan hasn’t had it as rough as Chechnya. The Russian army did not stage two separate, brutal offensives into its cities. Makhachkala has never faced the same devastation as Grozny, the Chechen capital declared by the United Nations in 2003 as the most destroyed city on Earth (a [...]
never miss a day, thanks for the blog

It has often been said that Hamid Karzai’s authority as president of Afghanistan means he is effectively the mayor of Kabul. The way things are going in Kyrgyzstan, Otunbaeva’s government is looking more and more like Bishkek’s city government.
Melis Myrzakmatov, the mayor of Osh and a thorn in the side of the new government [...]
wonder what this really means

According to Democracy International, the government of Afghanistan has decided to close 938 of 6835 centers, citing security concerns. Democracy in action (they have a very detailed analysis that is worth reading). Meanwhile, FEFA reports on the latest round of observing, from late June to mid-July:
During the first 3 weeks of [...]
more to read in our archives

I wrote a summary of the issues Uighurs face in China, and how that affects the regional security setting, for PBS this week.
This latest bombing in Aksu is, in many ways, another symptom of China’s dysfunctional relationship with Xinjiang and the Uighurs who live there. According to Chinese sources, the attack targeted a man leading [...]
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Andrew Exum is annoyed with Anatol Lieven:
I was disappointed, though, to listen to Lieven’s broadside against Ricks here (at the 17:00 mark, to be specific). A more careful graduate student would never criticize a professor at the department from where he hopes to be granted a degree in the near future, but Lieven looks foolish [...]
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The following is an account my friend sent me, at my request. This friend has requested anonymity, because of the nature of the incident, and I am respecting that. What I find remarkable here is that Panjshir is meant to be one of the safest and most welcoming provinces for travelers, right up there with [...]
so interesting

Compared to other recent counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan, the British “Food Zone” program in Helmand has received a pretty good press.  It’s been credited with facilitating the 2008-09 drop in poppy in Helmand and cited as a possible model for the rest of the country.  Sadly, when examined closely, there’s no compelling reason to think [...]
can believe what i am reading, so unfair

After 13 years of rotating as though he were carrying the Sun across the sky, Turkmenbashy’s statue atop the Arch of Neutrality stopped rotating a few weeks ago.Its almost as if the authorities wanted to be sure the Sun would continue rising and setting without the help of the 12 meter golden effigy of the [...]
if people only knew

Can anyone lend insight into why the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is publishing Gulnara Karimova as if she’s a scholar?
Professor Gulnara Islamovna Karimova is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Uzbekistan to Spain, Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva. She is also the Director [...]
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