Since January 2007, Bangladesh has been ruled under a state of emergency by a military-backed caretaker government led by "Chief Adviser" Fakhruddin Ahmed. This interim administration assumed control of the government and postponed elections that had been scheduled for January 2007 at a time when many feared that election related violence would escalate. Since, it has embarked on an anti-corruption drive and has pledged to return Bangladesh to democracy by holding elections by the end of the 2008. The current government's anti-corruption drive appears to be aimed at ridding Bangladesh of what many see as endemic corruption associated with Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League (AL) and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), both of whom are former Prime Ministers of Bangladesh. Despite this effort, it appears that the BNP and the AL, or factions thereof, will be the leading political contenders in the next election. Discontent over increasing food prices may exacerbate political tensions and lead to street protests. This could hinder the caretaker government's ability to govern and could lead to a prolonged state of emergency that could lead to further destabilization and further erode democracy in Bangladesh. The government reportedly arrested some 10,000 people in early June to "maintain law and order" in the lead-up to elections. "Local leaders and activists of major political parties, labour leaders, student activists and local government representatives" were reportedly among those arrested. In May 2008, the interim government invited the main political parties to enter into a dialogue with it to discuss the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia boycotted the talks on the basis that elections could not proceed without the country's two main political leaders. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia John Gastright stated on August 1, 2007, in testimony before the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, that Bangladesh was "... fast becoming a democracy in name only, where money, cronyism and intimidation increasingly dictated the outcome of elections." In discussing the shift to the new military-backed caretaker government, he stated that U.S. was initially "troubled that this dramatic shift in government might signal a hidden agenda to indefinitely delay a return to democracy and conceal a secret military coup." He added that the caretaker government was responsive to calls for outlining a roadmap to elections and the restoration of democracy. The United States has long-standing supportive relations with Bangladesh and has viewed Bangladesh as a moderate voice in the Islamic world. Major U.S. interests in Bangladesh include political stability and democratization; continuation of economic reform and market-opening policies; social and economic development; environmental issues; countering anti-Western Islamist groups; and improvement of the human rights situation. Many in the United States would particularly like to bolster Bangladesh's democracy, which is destabilized by political violence. In early 2003, Dhaka was the site of modestly-sized street demonstrations in opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Bangladesh is a recipient of significant international aid. It has received more than $30 billion from foreign donors since its independence in 1971. The State Department has requested a total of $88.8 million in assistance for Bangladesh in the FY2008 budget request. U.S. assistance to Bangladesh supports health and economic development programs, the improvement of working conditions, including the elimination of child labor. P.L. 480 funds provide food assistance for the poorest families and for disaster relief. International Military Education and Training programs strengthen the international peacekeeping force of Bangladesh, which is a leading contributor of U.N. peacekeeping personnel. The United States has generally had a negative balance of trade with Bangladesh since 1986. The United States is Bangladesh's largest export destination. Ready made garments and jute carpet backing are two of Bangladesh's key exports to the U.S. Bangladesh's main import partners are India, China, Kuwait, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong. The United States exports wheat, fertilizer, cotton, communications equipment, and medical supplies, among other goods to Bangladesh. In April 2008, U.S. Ambassador James Moriarty reportedly articulated three key dimensions to American foreign policy toward Bangladesh. These are democracy, development, and preventing terrorists from gaining influence in the country. He also stated that credible and transparent elections will be extremely difficult to conduct under a state of emergency, and he believes the caretaker government is taking steps to hold elections by the end of the year and that progress has been made in the area of human rights. Moriarty is cited as saying that "we are working closely with the government to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and improve control of Bangladesh's borders and ports of entry." The State Department budget has identified American aid priorities as focused on promoting "peace and security by strengthening democratic governance and tackling the underlying social, demographic, and economic factors that make Bangladesh vulnerable to violent extremism" through programs aimed at "democracy and governance, health, education, disaster management, food security, and economic growth." The U.S. has provided about $5 billion in aid to Bangladesh since independence in 1971. Bangladesh is among the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world. The largely agricultural economy suffers frequent and serious setbacks from cyclones and floods. Bangladesh is believed to have large reserves of natural gas. Formerly known as East Pakistan, and before that as the East Bengal region of British India, Bangladesh gained its independence from Pakistan in 1971 following a civil war that included military intervention by India. Whereas the partition of British India into India and Pakistan was the result of religious division between Hindus and Muslims, the partition of Pakistan that created Bangladesh was more the result of ethnic division and the desire for self expression by Bengalis from East Pakistan. This double partition was a challenge to the rationale for Pakistan and points to the national component of Bengali identity rather than to the religious component that has played an increasingly important role in Bangladesh politics and identity in recent years. Bangladeshi politics have been characterized by a bitter struggle between the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and the Awami League (AL), and particularly between the two leaders of the respective parties, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia (1991-1996, 2001-2006) and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed (1996-2001). Zia is the widow of former president and military strongman Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981. Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Bangladeshi independence leader and first prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1975. When out of power, both the AL and the BNP have devoted their energies to parliamentary boycotts, demonstrations, and strikes in an effort to unseat the ruling party. The strikes often succeeded in immobilizing the government and disrupting economic activity. The President's powers are largely ceremonial but are expanded during the tenure of a caretaker government. There has been much political violence in Bangladesh in recent years. The State Department issued a statement that "strongly condemned" the bomb attack that killed four, including former Awami League Finance Minister A.M.S. Kibria, and injured 70 at a political rally of the Awami League on January 27, 2005. The incident was described by the State Department as "the latest in a series of often deadly attacks on prominent leaders of the political opposition and civil society." On August 21, 2004, grenades were hurled in an apparent political assassination attempt on opposition leader Sheikh Hasina at a political rally in Dhaka and killed 22. These two attacks, and widespread bombings on August 17, 2005, marked a rising tide of political violence in Bangladesh. The formerly ruling Awami League alleged that the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami and Islamiya Okiyya Jote parties protected the radicals responsible for the violence from prosecution by the government. Bangladesh is a low-lying riparian nation of much agricultural fertility with a subtropical monsoonal climate that is particularly prone to flooding. The country's alluvial plain is drained by five major river systems that flow into the Bay of Bengal. Some 40% of Bangladesh's total land area is flooded on average each year washing away 1% of arable land. It has a large delta at the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghana rivers and their tributaries. The southwest coastal jungle region is known as the Sundarbans and is home to some of the few remaining Bengal Tigers in the world. There are some hills in the Chittagong Hill Tract region in the southeast and near Sylhet in the northeast of the country. Bangladesh is subject to major cyclones that cause extensive flooding at the rate of some 16 floods per decade. The low lying aspect of Bangladesh's terrain makes it particularly vulnerable to sea level rise due to climate change. An understanding of the close political balance between the two main parties in the last election is necessary to understand the political maneuvering that has taken place in the lead-up to the elections that were scheduled for January 22, 2007. The January 2007 elections were postponed by the military-backed interim government ostensibly to forestall mounting political violence and remove corrupt officials from office. Bangladesh has a 300-seat unicameral national parliament known as the Jatiya Sangsad. During the last election, held on October 1, 2001, the Zia-led Bangladesh National Party and its alliance partners won 41% of votes. The BNP's alliance partners in that election included the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the Islamiya Okiya Jote (IOJ), and the Jatiya Party (JP) - Manzur Faction. They were opposed by the Hasina-led Awami League which won 40% of the vote.