22 December 2006

Whither Turkmenistan

It remains to be seen what the sudden death of Sapurmurat Niyazov, the dictator of Turkmenistan, will mean to the country he ruled with an iron, if strange, fist for the past twenty one years. He has no anointed or obvious successor and most members of the opposition are in exile or in prison.

As the country is host to the world's fifth largest natural gas reserves its former overlord, Russia, while want its influence felt as will China and Western Europe to whom it is a critical energy supplier. Of course, the Decider (TM) will probably want to mosey on through on the back of his faithful mount "Freedom Agenda".

If the Turkmen are not as unlucky as the Iraqis it is possible that things could get marginally better. Maybe, maybe not.

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