Bush invites Kleptocrat to family home.

The truth about just how serious President Bush is about pushing his so called "Freedom agenda" is highlighted by the visit of President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan to the Washington, where he will not only be received in the White House, but he will also be taken to the Bush family compound in Maine.

Nazarbayev has not only been accused of creaming off some $78 million in bribes from an American businessman, but he also runs a regime that bans any opposition parties and regularly intimidates the press in Kazakhstan.

However, his country does sit on top of some very large oil reserves which apparently blinds the Bush administration to any other faults he may possess.

Nazarbayev is hardly the only controversial figure received at the top levels of the Bush administration. In April, the president welcomed to the Oval Office the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who has been accused of rigging elections. And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hosted Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the president of Equatorial Guinea, who has been found to have millions of dollars stashed in overseas bank accounts.

But the Kazakh leader has received especially warm treatment, given that the same government that will host him next month plans to go to trial in federal court in January to prove that he was paid off in the 1990s by a U.S. banker seeking to influence oil rights. Although the banker faces prison time, Nazarbayev has not been charged and has called the allegations illegitimate.

In addition to Nazarbayev's upcoming visit, Vice President Cheney went to the former Soviet republic in May to praise him as a friend, a trip that drew criticism because it came the day after Cheney criticized Russia for retreating from democracy. The latest invitation has sparked outrage among Kazakh opposition.

"It raises the question of how serious is the determination to fight kleptocracy," said Rinat Akhmetshin, director of the International Eurasian Institute, who works for Kazakh opposition. "Nazarbayev is a symbol of kleptocracy . . . and yet they are bringing him in. That sends a very clear signal to people inside Kazakhstan who are very well aware that he stole money from them."

The Bush administration has declined to comment as the visit has not yet been publicly announced although one official, speaking on condition of anonymity said:

President Bush often meets with leaders of countries "that are not yet democracies" and uses the time to push for more freedom. "We've always been frank in our discussions with government officials from Kazakhstan about our concerns about lack of democratic movement, and we always press them for democratic reform."

I love the implication that Kazakhstan is "not yet" a democracy, implying some kind of imminence to something that we all know is as likely as pigs flying.

Kazakhstan, a vast nation of 15 million on the Central Asian steppe, has emerged as an increasingly important player in the world energy market. With the largest crude oil reserves in the Caspian Sea region, Kazakhstan pumps 1.2 million barrels a day and exports 1 million of that. The Kazakh government hopes to boost production to 3.5 million barrels a day by 2015, rivaling Iran. U.S. and Russian companies and governments have competed for access to its oil.

Nazarbayev, 66, a blast-furnace operator-turned-Communist functionary, has led Kazakhstan since 1990, when it was part of the Soviet Union, and has since won a series of tainted elections. His government has banned or refused to register opposition parties, closed newspapers and harassed advocacy groups. Two opposition leaders were found dead of gunshots in disputed circumstances.

You can be reassured though that Bush won't mention the oil as he rips into Nazarbayev about his commitment to democracy in the region.

Transparency International, an anti-corruption organization, ranks Kazakhstan 2.6 on a 10-point scale, placing it 107th out of 159 countries graded. That's a decline from a 3.0 grade and 65th place in 2000.

"You don't have free elections, and the press is pretty much controlled by his family, and a significant portion of assets in Kazakhstan are directly or indirectly controlled by his family," said Miklos Marschall, the group's regional director.

Transparency International go on to say that he's "not the worst". Which no doubt in the eyes of the neo-cons allows the whole disgraceful visit an air of respectability.

I am reminded of Rummy shaking hands with Saddam. These people would shake hands with a snake if it had access to oil.

Tags: Bush, "Freedom Agenda", Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan