The Shanghai Cooperation Organization—the Russia-China led group that includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—now may see itself growing into an organization to rival NATO, reports the Christian Science Monitor. This was the group that, in June, caused a ripple when it demanded a timetable for withdrawal of US military forces from several bases in Central Asia. At its behest, Uzbekistan kicked American troops out of K-2. (DR, 08/30/05) Kyrgyzstan ignored the urging, though, opting instead for more American money. (DR, 10/13/05) With that kind of “go your own way” approach, the group sounds almost like NATO now.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.