On May 13, Uzbek troops opened fire on protesters in the Ferghana Valley city of Andijon, killing several hundred civilians. The crackdown marks the latest escalation in the repressive rule of President Islam Karimov, who—despite longstanding criticisms of his human rights record—has positioned himself as a U.S. ally in the global war on terror.

Should the Bush administration continue to partner with the Karimov government, or is it time to take a harder line with Tashkent? Following the success of pro-democracy movements in Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Georgia, and Ukraine, what are the implications of the Uzbek crackdown for President George W. Bush’s "forward strategy of freedom"? What are the implications of a shift in U.S. policy for Uzbekistan’s internal politics and the stability of Central Asia?

Please join AEI for a panel discussion to examine these and other questions. Speakers include William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard; S. Frederick Starr, chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins University SAIS; Martha Brill Olcott, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Chris Seiple, president of the Institute for Global Engagement; and Jennifer Leonard of the International Crisis Group. Leon Aron, director of Russian studies at AEI, will moderate.