The Foreign Service Journal, April 2003

F O C U S A P R I L 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 41 during the past year. The United States offered only mild statements of “concern” about “procedural irregularities” involved in the trial. In fact, Nazarbaev himself publicly stated before the “trial” itself that Duvanov’s guilt “was proven.” This pattern of silencing critical voices only shows signs of intensifying. Even as the U.S. faces difficult questions at home about how to balance liberties with the need to com- bat terror, its record is still dramatically better than those of the Central Asian states. Were the U.S. to increase pressure on these states to protect human rights, it would immediately bolster America’s moral authority in the region. This does not mean taking sides in any contest between the local opposition and the regime; what it does mean is upholding basic standards for the treatment of human beings. Broad Central Asian publics would find this worthy of applause; finally, the impression would be that the U.S. takes a firm, moral stance instead of an oppor- tunistic one based on narrow notions of self-interest. Second, the U.S. would change its popular image in Central Asia were it to become centrally involved in helping develop the region’s infrastructure — schools, roads, communications, rail, and the like. At a bare minimum, this could be accomplished by encouraging U.S. companies operating in the region to involve themselves in development projects. These econom- ic actors have deeply benefited from Washington’s bidding to open up Central Asian economies; they could be expected to return the favor by investing in infrastructure as a way to further Washington’s strate- gic interest in preventing anti-Americanism. But this may not be enough. Central Asian states require a Marshall Plan — an unprecedented commitment of material, ideological and human resources to a region that otherwise may prove to be destabilizing altogeth- er too soon. And we now know that instability in any region of the globe — no matter how seemingly remote — can have profound effects even in North America.