Posted on 03/14/2009 6:52:39 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Last month, the Kremlin dangled $2 billion in economic aid to prod Kyrgyz leaders to shut down Manas, the air base the U.S. uses to shuttle troops into and out of Afghanistan and refuel military aircraft. The response from Bishkek was swift. On Feb. 19, the Kyrgyz parliament gave the U.S. 180 days to leave Manas. ....
At a time when the world's financial crisis has most countries hunkering down, Russia is parlaying the global meltdown into a lever for expanding its influence in Central Asia and other former Soviet republics that the Kremlin regards as its "near abroad."
The Kremlin has stewarded a plan to prop up five cash-strapped former Soviet republics by establishing a $10 billion bailout fund, three-fourths of which would be nourished by Russian coffers. Moscow is also giving Armenia a $500 million loan and has promised $2 billion for Belarus.
With its economy in shambles, Kyrgyzstan has little choice but to comply with Russia's wishes, experts say. ....
Kyrgyzstan and the rest of Central Asia serve as pawns in the revival of the Great Game, a term that describes the diplomatic shadowboxing the British Empire and Czarist Russia engaged in over Central Asia during the 19th Century. Today, the players are the U.S., Russia and China, and among them it's the Kremlin that has the upper hand.
The former Soviet republics in Central Asia—Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan—are led by politicians and bureaucrats raised on Soviet-style governance. While they make deals with China and the West, their ultimate allegiance is to Moscow.
That puts the U.S. at a disadvantage in a region that has become particularly vital to the West in recent years.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
...and after the last American troops leave Manas, what will the Krygyzs do if the Russians DON’T give them the “economic help”?
Some Russian oil money paying dividends ?
I dunno. It’s in Russian interests to have a somewhat stable Krygyzstan on their border. However, the Russians have a long history of breaking their word.
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