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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| U.S. outflanks Kremlin, Beijing on Kyrgyz base |
| 2005-07-27 |
| EFLMOSCOW -- Facing pressure from Russia and China to end America's military presence in two Central Asian states, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld won assurances Tuesday from Kyrgyzstan's new leaders that they would not shut down a U.S. base on Kyrgyz soil used for combat and humanitarian missions in Afghanistan. The U.S. air base at Manas in Kyrgyzstan and its air base at Karshi-Khanabad in southern Uzbekistan have become vital cogs in American anti-terrorism operations in Central Asia. The continued use of those bases was put in doubt by a declaration July 5 by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security coalition made up of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The group called on the United States to fix a date for its pullout from its Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan bases. Since then, Uzbek President Islam Karimov and Kyrgyzstan's newly elected president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, have questioned the need for the U.S. bases in their countries, contending that Afghanistan for the most part has stabilized. U.S. troops can remain at Manas and Karshi-Khanabad only as long as the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan allow them to stay. After meeting with Rumsfeld on Tuesday in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, Kyrgyz leaders said Rumsfeld convinced them that Afghanistan remains volatile, and that Manas is needed to provide logistical support for operations there. "The base at Manas will stay as long as the situation in Afghanistan requires," acting Kyrgyz Defense Minister Ismail Isakov said during a news conference with Rumsfeld. "Once there is stabilization, there will be no need. But now I agree with [Rumsfeld], who said the situation in Afghanistan is far from stable." Rumsfeld would not discuss the future of the Manas base, saying it was a matter for the Kyrgyz government to decide. Bakiyev, elected July 10 after a popular uprising in March that toppled autocratic leader Askar Akayev, had expressed doubts about the need for the U.S. to keep about 1,000 troops at Manas in northern Kyrgyzstan. Relations with the Uzbek leader worsened after Washington criticized the Karimov regime's May crackdown on demonstrators in Andijan, which human-rights groups said killed more than 700 people, many of them unarmed. Karimov maintains that his troops fired solely on armed protesters and put the death toll at 187. Karimov responded to calls for an international probe into what happened in Andijan by ordering a curtailment of operations at Karshi-Khanabad. The U.S. has about 800 troops there. On Monday, Rumsfeld said losing access to Karshi-Khanabad would not jeopardize U.S. operations in Afghanistan. "We're always thinking ahead. We'll be fine," Rumsfeld told reporters traveling with him. The U.S. has been operating air bases in northern Kyrgyzstan and southern Uzbekistan since 2001, when American troops invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban. The regime collapsed in late 2001, but insurgents and other guerrillas have kept up attacks on Afghan authorities and U.S. troops At the start of the Afghan war, the Kremlin acquiesced to the establishment of temporary American bases in Central Asia, experts say, largely because Russian leaders fully understood the threat Islamic militants posed in the region. But Moscow has grown wary of a U.S. military presence in Central Asia, a region it wants firmly under its wing. "In 2001, there was a sense that Russia was incapable of providing security for Central Asia," said Ivan Safranchuk, an analyst with the Center for Defense Information in Moscow. "But Russian leaders always had this nightmare scenario: What if the U.S. did not leave? What if they deceive us and stay in Central Asia for much longer than planned?" Russia now appears poised to ratchet up its own military presence in Central Asia. Russian military leaders say they may double their forces at the Russian air base in Kant, Kyrgyzstan, where 500 troops are stationed. The Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported earlier this month that Karimov's government had signaled its readiness to allow Russia to establish airfields at up to 10 locations in southern Uzbekistan. "Russia and China are clearly trying to oust the U.S. so they can establish their own military protectorate over the area," said Stephen Blank, a professor at the U.S. Army War Colle |
| Posted by:Mrs. Davis |
| #2 And how are Cold War Soviet, now Russian, and Chicom INTEL facilities in Cuba, etc. NOT a desire of Russia-China to meddle in America's affairs? FYI, a few bloggers are reporting that Russia-China have allegedly mutually agreed to activate 10+ combat-ready divisions for potential use ags these new US bases in Central Asia. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-07-27 22:59 |
| #1 The Kyrgyz government is shaking Uncle Sam down for more money. The Uzbek government is unhappy that Uncle Sam tried to take their government down. The Kyrgyz government is probably also perturbed at Uncle Sam's verbal support for the Uzbek rebels. For existing governments, when you criticize government actions against rebels, you are, in effect, on the rebels' side. This is why Washington has been losing friends and not influencing people in the past several decades - this emphasis on human rights means encouraging rebels to overthrow existing governments. In cases where the government is somewhat inclined to cooperate with Uncle Sam, the rebels are much less friendly than the existing governments. Continued interference in the internal affairs of Central Asian regimes will turn them all against the US. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-07-27 11:01 |