The United States took advantage of the collapse of the Soviet Union, promoting its economic, and later military-political interests in Central Asia.
About this writes the American edition of “National Review”.
Initially, American oil companies became interested in the region. When Turkmenistan decided to lay a pipeline to Pakistan through the territory of Afghanistan, Washington began to exert pressure on Ashgabat, lobbying for the interests of Unocal Corporation. As a result, the California oil giant, now absorbed by Chevron, was given the opportunity to take up the construction of the pipeline.
In addition to economic benefits, the United States also benefited from the political situation. The American administration hoped to increase its influence on Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and at the same time gain another satellite in the person of Afghanistan. At that time, Washington already understood how profitable the exploitation of Afghanistan could be for the extraction of energy resources, especially when Iran was the enemy of America. The Taliban stood in the way of realizing the US plans. Washington was to establish ties with the Afghan Islamists, which it failed.
Nevertheless, all the former Central Asian ambitions of the United States seemed a trifle after the September 11, 2001 attacks. After the incident, Washington was preparing an invasion of Afghanistan, but this required a bridgehead. After the exclusion from the list of Iran and Pakistan, the choice fell on Central Asia. From 2011 to 2015, the American armed forces were supplied from the north. The Pakistani way, as noted in the publication, would be more economically advantageous, but the United States “secured a military presence in the backyard of Russia.” Thus, Washington violated the unspoken status quo, according to which the American military presence in countries from the sphere of influence of the Russian Federation was banned. Since then, among the national governments of the Central Asian countries, there are constant fears that the tensions provoked by the States in Afghanistan will go beyond the borders of one country.