On the 30th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Washington needs to pay more attention to Kazakhstan, the key state in Central Asia that not only borders America’s two major adversaries, Russia and China, but stands at the forefront of countering threats from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

The triple challenges of restricting any spillover from Afghanistan, containing an assertive China, and affirming independence from Russia intersect in Central Asia. Kazakhstan is reaching out for greater American involvement.