Tajikistan is a beautiful land in many ways, but it is also an impoverished land with a history of leaders who have served themselves, their families, and friends instead of their people. This makes it a fairly easy target for guerrilla groups and rebellious elements in the surrounding countries. We have all seen the upheavals in the Middle East and Central Asia caused by exactly such conditions. Peace is an extremely relative word and the current "peace" is truly relative. These small regimes have few instruments at hand to resist violent uprisings. Repression and murder are the norm rather than the exception. Brutality feeds the flames of insurrection and destruction of the limited infrastructure and governmental organizations easily cascades into chaos and anarchy.