The terrorist attacks of September 11 have turned the world's
attention to areas of the globe about which we know very little.
Ahmed Rashid, who masterfully explained Afghanistan's Taliban
regime in his previous book, here turns his skills as an
investigative journalist to the five Central Asian republics
adjacent to Afghanistan. Central Asia is coming to play a vital
strategic role in the war on terrorism, but the region also poses
new threats to global security.
The five Central Asian republics -- Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,
Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan -- were part of the Soviet
Union until its collapse in 1991. Under Soviet rule, Islam was
brutally suppressed, and that intolerance has continued under the
post-Soviet regimes. Religious repression, political corruption,
and the region's extreme poverty (unemployment rates exceed 80
percent in some areas) have created a fertile climate for militant
Islamic fundamentalism. Often funded and trained by such
organizations as Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda and the Taliban,
guerrilla movements like the IMU (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan)
have recruited a staggering number of members across the region and
threaten to topple the governments of all five nations. Based on
groundbreaking research and numerous interviews, Jihad explains the
roots of militant rage in Central Asia, describes the goals and
activities of these militant organizations, and suggests ways in
which this threat could be neutralized by diplomatic and economic
intervention.
Rich in both cultural heritage and natural resources --
including massive oil reservoirs -- Central Asia remains
desperately poor and frighteningly volatile. In tracing the history
of Central Asiaand explaining the current political climate, Rashid
demonstrates that it is a region we ignore at our peril.
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