Well.
In the playtest group the original suggestion was "Gotalotofoilistan", which was changed to the Austin Powers tastic Kreplakistan, which got changed again.
I did suggest gotalotofoilistan, but then I'm a little cynical.
Kazakstan is a real world potential flashpoint, as it has oil and fairly repessive human rights. All the eurasian 'stan countries are potential flashpoints for the future.
Uzbekistan is a particularly good flashpoint country, with its President being groomed by the US as the next Saddam Hussein (likes boiling people to death, cracks down on freedom of religion and expression, has ambitions towards WMD, is completely crazy, but is a bulwark against Islamic extremism and hence a Good Guy). I can see the West invading in about 10-15 years time because of his appalling human rights record, being a crazy dictator, boiling people to death type behaviour.
Both countries have Islamic resistance/terrorist movements (these are nothing at all to do with the persecution of muslims by the governments of these countries driving them towards extremism, it's because they hate freedom and want to destroy it). Should they ever achieve power or any measure of success there could be intervention on the part of the West. Realistically you could play now with limited Western forces representing those equipped with aid from the USA or UK. Both these countries are on the border of Russia (which is increasingly bullish) and close to China (which will have the same concerns regarding oil and natural gas, sorry I mean freedom, as the democratic west).
And Kazakhstan is where Borat is from, so there is significant potential for comedy there.
But any central asian crazy dictatorship is a good choice, and there is a lot to choose from, often with US or Russian forces already there.
