This book is based on the contributions of the experts who participated in and presented their papers at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop entitled as ‘NATO, the Fight against International Terrorism in Afghanistan and Security Situation in Central Asia since 9/11’. This workshop was held at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara-Turkey between 10-11 April 2011.

The idea to organize this NATO Advanced Research Workshop was co-developed by me from the Middle East Technical University and Prof. Zhamgyrbek Bokoshev from the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University in Bishkek-Kyrgyzstan. We shared the observation that the security situation in Afghanistan has been affecting the regional security in Central Asia considerably, especially in the aftermath of 9/11. Accordingly, NATO's importance and contributions to the regional security in this area have also increased. We also thought that there is a need for organizing a scientific workshop focusing on various aspects of the growing linkage between the security situation in Afghanistan and regional security in Central Asia as well as NATO's contributions to the security of both Afghanistan and Central Asia.

This NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), which was supported by the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, sought to promote dialogue among the experts from the NATO Member and NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries on the impact of Afghanistan on the security situation in Central Asia. The Workshop also sought to analyze the various dimensions of security in Central Asia as well as NATO's contributions to peace and security in this region in the aftermath of 9/11.

To this end, academics and experts from NATO member countries as well as its Partnership for Peace (PfP) partner countries met in Ankara - Turkey between 10 - 11 April 2011, for a two-day NATO-sponsored Advanced Research Workshop. During this ARW, the participants presented their papers and discussed their findings with other participants as well as the general audience. This book is composed of the fully-revised and updated versions of the papers presented at this NATO Advanced Research Workshop.

I would like to thank the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme for agreeing to support this Project both at the workshop and publication stages. I am particularly thankful to Dr. Deniz Beten, Ms Susan Williamson and Lynne Campbell-Nolan from the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme who have been always very kind in answering my questions. I am also thankful to Dr. Daniela Riggio from NATO for participating in our workshop and contributing to this publication despite his very busy schedule.

I am also grateful to Ms. Maureen Twaig, the Publication Manager of the IOS Press BV for her invaluable support, patience and understanding during the publication process. I would also like to thank the IOS Press and all of its staff for their professional work.

I am also thankful to all participants of this ARW for sharing their invaluable views and revising their papers fully in order to transform them into the chapters of this book. I would like express my gratitude to Prof. Zhamgyrbek Bokoshev from the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University in Bishkek-Kyrgyzstan for his cooperation in preparing this NATO Advanced Research Workshop Project as well as during the workshop organization.

I am particularly grateful to Professor Meliha Altunisik, Dean of the Graduate School of Social Sciences and Professor Huseyin Bagci, Chairperson of the Department of International Relations at the Middle East Technical University for their personal and institutional support throughout the workshop and publication stages. Both Professor Altunisik and Professor Bagci made invaluable scholarly contributions during the workshop too. I am also indebted to Prof. Thomas Barfield, a leading scholar on Afghanistan from Boston University in the United States, for his intellectual support for my studies on Afghanistan and Central Asia.

I would also like to thank Ms. Janargul Borkoeva for her invaluable assistance throughout the project. I am also thankful to Mr. Beishenbek Toktogulov, Ms. Viktoriia Demydova, Ms. Anastasiya Stelmakh and Mr. Zeki Günay for their help in organizing the workshop.

Last but not least, I am so grateful to Hezar, my wife, and Idil, my daughter, that my thanking will never be sufficient for their personal support and understanding during the editing stage of this book.

Oktay F. Tanrisever

DISCLAIMER

The opinions and comments presented in the book represent the personal views of the individual authors themselves and do not represent the official views of NATO or the countries and institutions with which the authors of this volume are affiliated. The authors are individually responsible for the content of their chapters. All the rights of the articles in this book are reserved.