CIA DIRECTOR THINKS STABILITY IN THE CAUCASUS IS CRITICAL FOR THE FUTURE OF EURASIA

PanARMENIAN.Net - 08.02.2001, MEDIAMAX, YEREVAN. CIA Director George J. Tenet said the Caucasus and Central Asia are parts of the world that "have the potential to become more volatile as they become more important to the United States".

Speaking on Worldwide Threat 2001 before the US Senate Intelligence Committee on February 7, Tenet said that the strategic location of the Caucasus and Central Asia - squeezed between Russia, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and China -make the stability of these countries critical to the future of Eurasia. Here corruption, poverty, and other social ills are providing fertile ground for Islamic extremism, terrorist networking, and drug and weapons trafficking that will have impact in Russia, Europe, and beyond, George Tenet noted. --0--