Chapter 9, Trouble in Paradise Summary and Analysis

Baer is in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in November of 1992. Russia had no problems with Islamic Fundamentalism until 1979, when they seized control of Afghanistan. The revolt began and the Red Army invaded and the occupation last for ten years. By 1990, there were problems in other Soviet republics.

The Central Asian Republics are rich in oil and gas. All of their pipelines pass through Russia and after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States tried to find a way of bypassing the Soviet pipeline. The major oil companies ignored the political instability of the region.

Baer is touring the Central Asian Republics. He goes to Namangan, which is supposed to be the center of Islamic fundamentalism. He is in Uzbekistan where he hadn't obtained government permission to travel. That night he is guarded by two...