AS CENTRAL ASIA GOES: So goes the future, according to Claire Berlinski, who notes about the vast region stretching across the middle of Asia that:

“Only 20 percent of the population in Central Asia is old enough to remember the fall of the Soviet Empire. The young have no memory of the Soviets; their sense of identity is drawn from legends of earlier kingdoms and the fabled history of such places as Samarkand and Bukhara. The region’s governments have deliberately cultivated this sensibility in an effort to reclaim their history from Russia and the Soviet Union.

“The US and Europe have neglected the region. Some French and German companies have invested in Uzbekistan’s mining resources, but their investments pale compared to the massive scope of China’s in recent years. The US and Europe have simply not built an enhanced military presence, nor have they created economic incentives sufficient to build a lasting relationship with the region. In his recent summit with Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin made it clear that he would not tolerate new US bases in Central Asia.”

One need not agree with a neo-con/globalist agenda in order to recognize that the West, including the U.S., cannot afford to ignore developments in Central Asia, in particular those that point to the region’s potential contributions to the gathering strength of Russia, China and Iran.