Why oh why did they have to quote Felgenhauer?
Future of U.S.-Kyrgyz Base in Doubt By JIM HEINTZ July 11, 2005
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) - Kyrgyzstan's newly elected president on Monday sent a troubling message to Washington that the presence of a U.S. base in his Central Asian nation should be reconsidered.
Neighboring Uzbekistan has also placed in doubt the future of the U.S. base on its territory - a strategic reverse for the United States which established a military foothold in this energy-rich region neighboring Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks.
``Afghanistan has had presidential and parliamentary elections. The situation there has stabilized. So now we may begin discussing the necessity of U.S. military forces' presence,'' Kurmanbek Bakiyev said a day after his decisive victory in a presidential election. ``When and how it will happen, time will show.''
His comments echoed a call last week by a regional security body led by China and Russia that includes four Central Asian nations for the United States and its allies to set a date to withdraw their forces from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The bases are used in connection with the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition forces' activities in Afghanistan.
According to the U.S. military, Uzbekistan hosts at least 800 U.S. troops at the air base in the south of the country, while 1,200 troops from the United States and South Korea are in Kyrgyzstan. Some 200 French air force personnel also are based in Tajikistan.
The United States established its base at Bishkek's airport in late 2001. It is used mainly for tanker planes that refuel other military aircraft in flight. Either country can end the arrangement with 180 days' notice.
It was unclear whether Bakiyev, acting president since the March uprising that drove out Kyrgyzstan's longtime leader, joined in signing the call under pressure from other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is aiming to increase its clout.
However, regional power-brokers Russia and China appear increasingly irritated by the presence of U.S. forces in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and French forces in Tajikistan. Russia itself has an air base in Kyrgyzstan.
Both Russia and China supported Uzbekistan's authoritarian regime in its violent suppression of an uprising in the city of Andijan in May, while Western governments harshly criticized the country.
Christopher Langton of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said that despite Russia's continued role as an ally in the war on terror, it was openly challenging Washington for dominance in Central Asia - its former Soviet backyard.
``The relationship between Russia and the United States in Central Asia and Afghanistan is changing, from one based on cooperation after the events of 2001 to one that is more competitive,'' he said.
China, which is looking to tap into the region's energy resources to feed its booming economy, is also uneasy about the U.S. military role on its doorstep.
A U.S pullout ``serves Chinese interests as much as Russia, the Chinese fear encirclement by the U.S. and want to prevent a permanent U.S. military presence in Central Asia,'' Langton said.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the United States was ``very appreciative'' of the cooperation Kyrgyzstan had offered for coalition operations in Afghanistan but declined further comment.
Central Asia is of key strategic interest to Washington. Islamic radicalism is on the rise in the region and its vast oil and gas reserves are seen as a means to reduce reliance on Middle East oil.
Pavel Felgenhauer, a Moscow-based defense analyst, said that Russia could also ultimately lose out from a U.S. withdrawal that may mean the spread of radical Islamic influence while Russian forces are preoccupied with the war in separatist Chechnya.
``Moscow would like to see a diminished U.S military presence in Central Asia but Russia cannot fill the void - everything it has is tied up in the North Caucasus,'' he said. ``Moscow can lose a lot from destabilization in Central Asia.''
Associated Press writer Henry Meyer in Moscow contributed to this report.
Nu, zayats, pogodi!
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