The article allocates one of the threats for security of Central Asia called the Afghan knot, which tied many of the existing problems in the region and the world. The transnational nature of drug trafficking from Afghanistan poses a serious threat to stability and security, sponsoring extremist and criminal groups. The expansion of the actors of terrorism goes in many directions. The subject of attention in the article is terrorism as a mass and politically significant phenomenon - the result of failed policies in Afghanistan with all the attendant consequences.
Afghanistan is troubled southern neighbor of post-Soviet Central Asia. It is impossible to briefly describe all the events and complexities of the still existing Afghan problem as Afghan knot, which tied the interests of the countries located far outside Central Asia. The research topic is relevant as at the end of the 90s as today. Despite the successful military operation in Afghanistan and the formation of the Afghan Interim government headed by Hamid Karzai, and then the coming to power of President – Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, to tell about solving the "Afghan problem" is, perhaps, still premature. As it is premature to speak about the fact that the "Afghan factor" is taken into consideration in the structure of regional security in Central Asia. A retrospective look at the causes and the history of the "Afghan conflict", its impact on the regional security system of the newly independent States of Central Asia to South direction remains one of the main matters of contemporary security system in the region. Moreover, this question has not only scientific, but also great practical importance, since its adequate understanding, assessment of the forces involved in the conflict, a forecast of possible prospects of development, etc., are tied with the destinies of all Central Asian States.
Understanding of the "Afghan conflict" and regularities of its development is impossible and without recourse to history in the context of the current geopolitical situation and the "buffer status" of Afghanistan. It is quite natural to begin the analysis of the situation with historical retrospectives of the "buffer status" of Afghanistan, developed as the result of a compromise geopolitical interests in Central Asia the Russian and British empires, and later between the USSR and the British Empire, finally, between the USSR, India and Pakistan. This preliminary analysis allows a more detailed approach to understanding the geopolitical significance of Afghanistan, the reasons for the emergence of modern "Afghan conflict", the conflict between the parties, the alignment of geopolitical forces in the region, the interests of the parties, etc. The same analysis gives the opportunity to trace the transformation of the concept of geopolitical security in the Central Asian region [1].
The world has entered the XXI century with numerous unresolved problems in a global dimension. The financing of terrorism and extremism, corruption, money-laundering, the spread of AIDS and other diseases – this is not a complete list of threats, which carries the humanity of illegal drug trafficking. Afghanistan became, in fact, a narco-state – the country produces 93% of all opiates in the world. Since the intervention into the country of a military contingent under the aegis of the UN, the volume of the opium crop grew by almost three times. Over the past 10 years, drug production in Afghanistan increased 40 times. Afghanistan is considered one of the world's narcotic monopoly in the market. Decades of war ravaged the country. The collapse of the economy, uncertainty in politics, the lack of earning opportunities, raised opium cultivation to the rank of ideal crops for many Afghan farmers, actually living through subsistence farming. Giant drug trafficking from Afghanistan poses an enormous potential for destabilization of the situation in the countries of Central Asia.
Accepted by the new Afghan administration and international organizations, measures to reorient Afghan farmers an alternative to growing opium poppy crops by paying them monetary compensation for each hectare of the destroyed crops did not lead to the expected results. According to experts, the specified compensation is much less than the actual revenues collected from the opium. So, poppy cultivation almost 30 times more profitable than wheat and 40 times than cotton. The attempts of forced eradication of opium poppy to meet the resistance of the population, including armed. In Afghanistan, there are forces of the international coalition. However, according to experts, the flow of drugs from there are not decreasing. Generally speaking, the situation in Central Asia tends to increasingly sharp deterioration.
The transnational nature of drug trafficking from Afghanistan poses a serious threat to security and stability as neighboring countries, and countries of Europe and America. This requires joint efforts of all stakeholders in stemming the spread of drugs, their cohesion at all levels, from political decision-making and completing the practical implementation of the agreements. However, the existing potential for cooperation in strengthening the borders and carrying out actions aimed at curbing illegal transit flows, is not used fully. Afghan drug trafficking is sponsoring extremist and criminal groups. The Afghan drug business, merged with criminal terrorist groups, is killing now people not only with heroin, but also weapons, explosives, utilized by terrorists. By this time, the control of illegal shipments of illicit drugs from Afghanistan passed into the hands of ISIL, with the proceeds of drug trafficking have become one of the key sources of financing of terrorist activities. Today, international terrorist organizations are powerful structures with respective to their scope of technical equipment. The examples of Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Kosovo and Chechnya show that international terrorist organizations are able not only to conduct isolated attacks, but also to conduct subversive-terrorist war, to participate in large-scale armed conflict.
The expansion of the actors of terrorism goes in many directions. Under the banner of the terrorists are not only private organizations, political, nationalist, religious and criminal education, and sometimes whole Nations or large segments. In turn, the expansion of the social base activates and acts of terrorism, expands the opportunities to create more extensive infrastructure of terrorist organizations, which in turn prevents the detection and suppression of terrorist acts and the activities of their performers and organizers.
This trend is due to several social conditions of the modern world, which include primarily the following:
- the growth of the participation of different segments of the population in the socio-political struggle;
- the exacerbation of ethnic conflicts in many countries, a sharp intensification of nationalistic processes of an extremist nature and involvement of a broad public;
- dissemination in different regions of the sectarian conflicts, the development of religious and religious- political extremism, formation on this basis of sustainable hotbeds of political conflicts involving large masses of the population;
- worsening in many countries of the regional separatism, the emergence of numerous foci of the armed struggle for the revision of the internal boundaries in the existing States [2];
Terrorism became the main threat to peace and stability, and its suppression therefore is a common cause of the entire international community. There is no more terrible mistake than to involve "everyone" in the fight against terrorism. In fact, this is exactly what the terrorists seek - almost animal reaction to their actions. "Threatening me - I am armed - my rifle should not stand". One violence begets, as the causative virus, hundreds of other foci of the disease, threatening the integrity and private life of the whole social organism.
The most important tool of counter-terrorism policy is awareness, i.e., the knowledge and the willingness to act in an emergency. So if political mistakes brought the company to the terrorist war, its citizens must be prepared to survive. They must be sure that everything is being done to ensure the safety; all adults must possess (at a minimum) the techniques of first aid and action in emergencies. Above all is to keep public emotions. Politicians and mass media are obliged to restrain their emotions. First, the terror imposed on specific people, not a particular nationality or concession. Secondly, this is not war, but a special kind of crime. Thirdly, the more society will discuss acts of terror, the more it "gets". Finally, a General recommendation of all the experts in counterterrorism and conflict resolution, the state in its fight against terrorism, at least publicly, to do everything within the framework of its own laws. If the only way to undermine or to stop terrorism is obviously an illegal operation, such as the murder of the leader of terrorists on foreign soil or a major operation, involving an obvious violation of human rights - such activities should be carried out in secrecy; about the involvement of the state to such shares, the company if can see only some time later, when you calm down a natural emotion and pain. Close attention should be the latest communication tools that terrorists use to promote their own ideas and communicate with each other, primarily including Internet computer network and private means of encoding the transmitted information on it [3].
Terrorism as a mass and politically significant phenomenon - the result of rampant "deideologization" when certain groups in society are easily questioned the legality and the rights of States, and even justify their move to terror to achieve their goals. Covert operations, unfortunately, become necessary and widely used tool of inter- state struggle. It is irresponsible to play this - it is extremely dangerous, than the United States has learned in Afghanistan, trying to speak out against bin Laden and his movement "al-Qaeda".
Big problems may arise for the processes of state development in the countries of Central Asia, which can experience great stress in connection with the onset of the stage of change of political elites. And the most important lesson from Afghan history to Central Asian States that now countries in the region may become an arena for clashes of interests with all its consequences.
- Akimbekov M. “The Afghan knot and problems of security in Central Asia”. - Almaty, 2003.
- Terror, terrorism and terrorist Criminological and legal research. - M., 2006.
- The Fight against terrorism at the present stage // State and 1995. No. 10.