The dramatic developments in Egypt's Tahrir square and across the Middle East should make Western policy-makers think twice about the wisdom of long-term, unconditional support for hardened autocracies. I just spent two months in one - Uzbekistan.
As with Egypt, Western countries have significant security and energy interests there. This Central Asian state borders Afghanistan, allows non-lethal cargo to be transported through its territory for the Nato-led war effort and hosts a German...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.