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Obama courts human rights abusers in Taliban fight
President Barack Obama is resurrecting relations with some of the world's worst human rights abusers in Central Asia as he attempts to secure new allies in the fight against the Taliban.
In the last three months, Obama has cut deals with Presidents Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan. Karimov has been accused by a former British ambassador of ordering two opponents boiled alive. One of Mr Bakiyev's critics was recently stabbed 26 times in the buttocks by unknown assailants.
US diplomats have also paid calls on Ashgabad, the capital of Turkmenistan, a country still reeling from the personality cult of "Turkmenbashi", as the late President Sapurmurat Niyazov styled himself during his eccentric 19-year rule.
"The United States is fixated by Afghan issues and does not care if it supports dictators," Tashbulat Yuldashev, a former Uzbek government official turned dissident told The Telegraph.