A position paper on US policy to foster Central Asian Balkanization

Hello all and thanks for reading this position paper on Balkanization. The main points on this blog will be to assess, compare, contrast and conclude on future US foreign policy in central Asia.

First of all a short introduction. I am an American expat living in Eastern Asia with an avid interest in foreign policy issues, especially involving the country of my birth. I like to think of myself as somewhat of a centrist with a profound dislike of ideologues and extremist political hacks who rarely think through the positions they are espousing. I grew up in Manhattan NY and have attended some of the finer private schools the city has to offer. Along the way I have been fortunate enough to meet a wide variety of people and learn some really amazing things. Enough to know distrust anyone who says they have "all" the answers.

In my university days I focused mostly on the liberal arts including history, political science and international affairs. I also have a deep and compelling interest in geography and to a lessor extent the business aspects and physical science of how things work.

My parents were both NY city employees, and I will freely admit that the unions involved in those jobs have been of a benefit to both myself and my family. I am NOT saying that all unions are a good thing, but I have little tolerance for people who support the dissolution of all unions. However I would welcome such a debate if a reader wished to discuss that at some point in the future.

My hero's are; David Farragut, Teddy Roosevelt, Benjamin Franklin, and Vinegar Joe Stillwell. All great Americans. Farragut for his resolve under fire, Roosevelt for overcoming a childhood of illness related to asthma and later becoming a leader of men, Franklin for being a self made man and Joe Stillwell for doing a job of critical importance to the united states during world war two most of which has been forgotten. All four are critical in the formation of the the USA and to a certain extent its foreign policy.