Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Crapsackistan...
Uzbekistan's Islam Karimov should make any reasonable list of the world's worst dictators. (Not as bad as Kim Jong Il, slightly worse than Castro.) He has, unfortunately, taken advantage of geographic reality (convenient staging ground for the whole Afghanistan thing), to behave like R. Kelly at an 8th grade slumber party. Via Oxblog, we learn that Karimov has made it a crime akin to treason to give damaging information about his government to international organizations. Picture Bob Woodward getting the chair for giving Kofi Annan a signed copy of his book.
(That visual was probably more pleasant that you meant it to be. - ed. )
Karimov is also in the process of throwing out a group that actually dispensed a lot of aid in Uzbekistan, on the grounds that they also annoyed the government while they were there.
It's important not to forget the bad guys who have gotten ahold of their own countries, either because they have funny sounding names or are allies of convenience. There needs to be a reckoning in Uzbekistan, sooner rather than later, and when it comes, the why shouldn't be news.
(That visual was probably more pleasant that you meant it to be. - ed. )
Karimov is also in the process of throwing out a group that actually dispensed a lot of aid in Uzbekistan, on the grounds that they also annoyed the government while they were there.
It's important not to forget the bad guys who have gotten ahold of their own countries, either because they have funny sounding names or are allies of convenience. There needs to be a reckoning in Uzbekistan, sooner rather than later, and when it comes, the why shouldn't be news.
