Boucher’s ‘New Sense’
Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia gave his ‘The Year Ahead in South and Central Asia‘ news conference a little late this year. Boucher spoke on many topics, which I will break down below, and overall he stated that there’s a ‘new sense of momentum and a new sense of energy’ in both regions. Afghanistan stability was by far the main topic concerning our blog, but he also touched on Kazakhstan’s rising influence, Uzbek’s Termez base, SCO engagement, and a Central Asian Union.
1. Afghanistan- Boucher would reiterate again and again that the Afghan government was taking a lead in more and more of security and governance tasks and that this was the most important sign of progress. There was also strong emphasis on extending the capabilities and reach of the central government out to the local districts. Boucher stated that the chief indicator of stability would be the Afghan government’s ability to ‘deliver opportunity, to deliver justice, to deliver governance and services to the people of Afghan.’
Also in regards to Afghanistan, Boucher stated that the latest NATO summit in Bucharest affirmed the international community’s strong long-term commitment to the effort. Boucher applauded the appointment of Kai Eide as the new Special Rep for the UN Secretary General for Afghanistan. A quick discussion of the regional impact of Afghan’s instability, and therefore stability, was having on Central and South Asia occurred. The nation was called ‘vital’ to the CA states for ‘good’ and for ‘bad.’ He discussed the nation being a ’strategic opportunity’ and a transit point for all of its nearby states (as we discussed earlier, India and Pakistan would use Afghan territory to transport gas and oil from CA) and emphasized the importance of building a network of roads between CA and the nation, for example the Almaty-to-Karachi highway.
2. Kazakhstan- Boucher stated that he recently visited Kazakhstan and talked with their officials about developing public-private partnerships, expanding economic ties, and helping them carry out their commitments as they prepare for the OSCE chairmanship in 2010. He stated that President Nazarbayev has called for entering on the ‘path to Europe,’ which would involve modernization and the standardization of laws and society.
3. Shanghai Cooperation Organization- In answering a reporter from Hong Kong’s question, Boucher stated that the US is not ‘pursuing any particular form of cooperation’ with the SCO, but that it had proved ‘very useful’ in its role in some economic, border, and transit issues. However, Boucher criticized the group for interfering in political areas and for its negative pronouncements about other countries ‘like us.’ Boucher was asked what he thought of Iran as a future member of the SCO, but he did not answer the question.
4. Uzbekistan’s Termez Base- Boucher verified that there had been an accepted provision allowing certain ISAF and NATO officials and non-lethal goods to transit through the base, but that no US aircraft were ‘coming through.’ He stated that only something like 30 Americans, under NATO command, transited through the base last year. I have noticed that all US officials in the region, Pamela Spratlen, have been extremely cautious in explaining that Termez is not a US-controlled base. Treading lightly in Central Asia.
5. Central Asian Union- Boucher briefly voiced his support for CA regional cooperation, especially in regards to trade and transit, but was careful to layout that this was a problem/situation to be handled by internal member states, not ’some outsider like me or anybody else.’
What did you get out of Boucher’s statements? What he said, and what he didn’t say? Is your picture of Afghanistan and the region as rosy as his?