Congressman: US needs counterterrorism partners in Central Asia
Voice of America
FILE - A U.S. Congressional delegation meets with Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev, center, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, March 27, 2024. (President.uz photo) Congressman Adam Smith, top Democrat on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, talks with VOA's Navbahor Imamova, Washington, May 1, 2024. FILE - Families see off their sons to the army in Khorezm, Uzbekistan, March 5, 2024. For decades, the U.S. has trained Central Asian armed forces, spending millions to boost border security and provide military equipment. (Uzbekistan's Defense Ministry) FILE - Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin during the Eurasian Economic Union summit, Moscow, May, 8, 2024. (President.uz photo)
In a rare discussion of Central Asia policy on Capitol Hill, a senior legislator told VOA that the United States needs to look past the abysmal human rights records of the countries in the region to confront terrorism and Russian and Chinese influence.
FILE- The world's largest mud-brick building, the Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali, awaits its annual replastering, May 10, 2024. Former guide Kola Bah, who has been unemployed since Mali's conflict started and now sells from his small herd of cattle when he needs to make ends meet, poses for a photograph in Djenne, Mali, May 9, 2024. The streets of old town Djenne, Mali, once filled with tourists, stand empty, May 9, 2024.
FILE - Children attend a makeshift class in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, April 21, 2024. FILE - Manal Al Buhaisi works with children at a makeshift class in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on April 21, 2024. FILE - Children attend an activity at a makeshift class in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, April 21, 2024.
A visitor walks along on a beach equipped with anti-landing barricades, with the Chinese city of Xiamen seen in the background, in the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands, in Kinmen on May 17, 2024. Tourists pose for photos as they visit a scenic spot on Pingtan island, the closest point in China to Taiwan’s main island, in Fujian province on May 18, 2024.