US involvement? I think not.

Here's a link to a fairly comprehensive AP article on the Andijan uprising on the CNN website.

What's interesting, in light of the fact that Russian commentators (both armchair analysts in online forums and government officials and "experts") are hinting at or directly stating that the US has somehow played a role here, is the tone of the US official comments. Here they are in context, from the AP story linked to above:

President Islam Karimov is regarded as one of the harshest leaders in the former Soviet Union and apparently favors quick and decisive action against any threats to his regime.

Uzbekistan is a key Washington ally in the war on terrorism and hosts a U.S. air base to support military operations in neighboring Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks.
But it also is frequently denounced by human rights groups and Western governments for torture and repression of opposition.

The White House urged restraint by the government and the demonstrators.

"The people of Uzbekistan want to see a more representative and democratic government. But that should come through peaceful means not through violence, and that's what our message is," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

"We have had concerns about human rights in Uzbekistan, but we are concerned about the outbreak of violence, particularly by some members of a terrorist organization that were freed from prison."

In my opinion, just about any human rights advocate would interpret that as the Bush administration coming down on the side of "our SOB" in Uzbekistan, President Karimov. The tip-off in my view is the White House's willingness to identify the rebels in Andijan as "terrorists," which automatically marks them for death - even if they're actually just businessmen arrested on trumped-up charges so that someone can steal their property.

But the Russians have become paranoid about revolutions in their former empire, so they are now on the lookout for US involvement in anything that destabilizes the situation in a former Soviet republic. Maybe the situation in Uzbekistan was somehow instigated by the US, and maybe not (I highly doubt there was US involvement in springing Islamic terrorists from jail, but as they say, sometimes people ARE out to get the paranoid guy), but the fact is that if you are always trying to see "hidden connections," sometimes you'll see them when they are not actually there.

Or maybe it's too early to read so much into official US statements, or Russian ones, for that matter. The events seem to be still playing out. I will be back this evening (Moscow time) with more updates, if time permits.