Even before the tragic events of September 11, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian nations such as Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were beginning to receive greater attention from the United States government, primarily because of their significant petroleum and other mineral resources. Since September 11, that interest has intensified, mainly because of security concerns highlighted by the military campaign in Afghanistan and the overall war against terrorism. From both perspectives, the United States has important national interests relating to Kazakhstan specifically and Caspian Basin region more generally. These interests have been extensively articulated by the Bush Administration and members of Congress this year. They are likely to be further clarified when President Nursultan Nazarbayev meets with President Bush December 21 at the White House.

International Security

Kazakhstan borders both Russia and China and is a close neighbor of both Iran and Afghanistan. As Senator Sam Brownback has observed - well before the military campaign in Afghanistan – Kazakhstan is "caught in a tough neighborhood."

During his visit to Kazakhstan this month, Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged the country’s political and diplomatic support for the war on terrorism, and its military support in the form of overflight clearances. While it has not been necessary to take up Kazakhstan’s offer to use its military bases, the country’s transportation infrastructure and other facilities could play a significant role in humanitarian relief and the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Well before September 11, Kazakhstan was acknowledged as a possible buffer against Islamic fundamentalism. Indeed, the Islamic tradition in Central Asia in general has been a very tolerant one. The Taliban's variety of Islam has had little attraction to most inhabitants of Central Asia, who widely accept the idea of a secular state.

The United States also has a strong interest in working with Central Asian governments to combat illicit drugs and to prevent the smuggling of materials that could be used to develop weapons of mass destruction. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently opened an office in Kazakhstan to serve these purposes.

The United States and Kazakhstan recently made significant progress on what the Department of Energy has called "one of the world's largest and most successful nonproliferation projects" – securing a stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium large enough to make roughly 400 nuclear bombs. That project builds on a record of security cooperation between the two countries that began when Kazakhstan agreed to denuclearize after the collapse of the Soviet Union ten years ago, and continued through Operation Sapphire, during which Kazakhstan shipped 600kg of weapon-grade uranium to the United States to remove an urgent proliferation threat.

In the past decade, Russia occasionally has attempted to exert influence on Kazakhstan and other former Soviet states, particularly with regard to energy matters. During his confirmation hearing in January, Secretary of State Colin Powell noted that, "we have to make it clear to the Russians that even though they may have concerns in the periphery of the old Soviet Union and now the periphery of Russia, they cannot act in a heavy-handed way, and they cannot intimidate these countries, and they cannot threaten these countries, and they should not think about trying to re-create the old Soviet Union in some smaller way. This will not further their interests in the West."

On a more positive note, the recent warming trend in US-Russian relations bodes well for America’s efforts to enhance its relations with the Central Asian nations – primarily because it could imply a relaxation of the constraints (whether real or imagined) that former Soviet states perceive to emanate from Moscow’s foreign policy.

Energy Security

Natural resources, particularly oil and gas, currently provide the greatest opportunities for strengthening ties between the United States and Central Asia, and Kazakhstan in particular. To date, the most senior US official to speak at length about Kazakhstan has been Vice President Dick Cheney. Commenting this July on the Administration=s comprehensive national energy plan, Vice President Cheney stressed the importance of Kazakhstan in the context of diversifying foreign oil supplies. "We need to develop projects to get pipelines built …. so that we can get access to the oil, get it into the international market, that will help stabilize prices and diversify supply."

Indeed, as the United States and Russia seek to build upon the commercial aspects of their relationship, the energy resources of the former Soviet Union could in fact serve as basis for international cooperation. That was the message Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans sought to convey in his recent statement regarding the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a $2.6 billion project that built a 935-mile crude oil pipeline running from the Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk Referring to the project, Secretary Evans declared that "it tells the world that the United States, Russia, and Central Asian states are cooperating to build prosperity and stability in this part of the world."

Proven oil reserves in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are about 20 billion barrels, almost equivalent to those of the United States. These figures could increase significantly as exploration continues. For example, initial results of exploration in Kazakhstan’s Kashagan field indicate the potential oil reserves are comparable to those of Prudhoe Bay in Alaska.

Current exports from the region are about 800,000 barrels of oil per day, in part due to limited export route options. DOE estimates that exports could increase by 1.8 million barrels of oil per day by 2005, as export routes, such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) and Caspian Pipeline Consortium oil pipelines are fully functional.

Kazakhstans energy potential argues for strengthened cooperation and commercial dialogue between senior officials of both the U.S. and Kazakhstan. In this regard, an energy working group that can help clear obstacles to implementing commercial projects could prove very useful.

Democracy and Civil Society

The strategic geopolitical position and commercial attractions of Kazakhstan, and other nations in Central Asia, should not divert U.S. attention from promoting democratic values and assisting in the development of market economies in the region. Kazakhstan has made substantial progress in implementing economic and political reforms since achieving independence ten years ago. But it will require sustained effort by Kazakhstan’s leaders to overcome the tragic legacy of seventy years of Communist rule. As the dominant political figure in the country, President Nazarbayev will play the key role in setting the tone and direction of Kazakhstan’s political evolution. Indeed, he could help make Kazakhstan a model for the region. The U.S. can also assist in this process, through the democracy building efforts of organizations like the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute. Lastly, repeal of the outdated Jackson-Vanik sanctions – as already championed by key members of the U.S. Congress – and official recognition of Kazakhstan as a "market economy" in 2002 could help usher in a new era in US-Kazakh relations.