Kyrgyzstan agrees to allow US troops to stay in country

The Telegraph ^ | 6/23/2009 | Adrian Blomfield in Moscow

[bruinbirdman]

Kyrgyzstan has reversed a Russian order to evict the US military from an airbase close to Afghanistan in a significant foreign policy victory for Barack Obama.

After winning major financial concessions from Washington, the Kyrgyz government said it had agreed to allow the US Air Force to retain control of the Manas Airbase for at least one more year.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev

The move, which comes a fortnight before Mr Obama visits Moscow, was welcomed by the United States, which has emphasised the base's importance in the campaign to defeat the Taliban.

"We applaud the decision by the Kyrgyz Republic to continue to play a key role as the international community broadens and deepens its commitment to bringing stability and security to Afghanistan," said a spokesman at the US embassy in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.

The deal appeared to represent a blow for Russia, which has long opposed the presence of American troops central Asia, an area in which the Kremlin last year claimed it had a "privileged interest".

Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the Kyrgyz president, gave the United States six months to leave Manas in February. The eviction order came shortly after Russia offered Kyrgyzstan, one of the poorest and most corrupt former Soviet states, £1.3 billion in loans and aid.

The loss of Manas would have been a major setback for Pentagon strategists. Nearly 190,000 military personnel were flown in and out of Manas last year and the base has played a major role in providing fuel and other supplies for the Afghan operation.

Having been evicted, under Russian pressure, from its only other central Asian base in Uzbekistan four years ago, the US military would have been left solely reliant on transit routes through Pakistan, which have come under increasingly sustained attack from

[justa-hairyape]

Beat you by 10 minutes, but your thread has the image also.
Kyrgyzstan agrees to allow US troops to stay in country

[AliVeritas]

ping

[Uncle Miltie]

"The eviction order came shortly after Russia offered Kyrgyzstan, one of the poorest and most corrupt former Soviet states, £1.3 billion in loans and aid."

Where else have we heard the sum 1.3 billion?

That's right; the Japanese nationals caught crossing the Italian / Swiss border with $1.3B USD in bearer bonds.

Can you say "bagmen for Kyrgyzstan?" I knew you could.

[HonestConservative]

Thank you!

Now if we can just get Berkley to go along....

[ansel12]

We have suffered from them since that scandal with the female American major and the Air Force coverup.

[ASOC]

You gotta ask - how big ws the bribe for this one?

[bruinbirdman]

"Where else have we heard the sum 1.3 billion? "

A week ago Hussein Obama had offered a loan and some greenbacks. The Prez of Kyrgyzstan turned him down. We were about to close the airbase.

Speculation Intensifies over the Future of Manas [U.S. air base in Kyrgyzstan]

"Since Bakiyev announced his decision to expel the U.S. base in February, both the Kyrgyz and U.S. governments have denied that any negotiations were taking place between the two sides. According to Jamestown sources, however, the Kyrgyz government had expected Washington to compete with the Russian promise of $2 billion in loans. The U.S. government, in the meantime, has promised $30 million in aid."

yitbos

[Chet 99]

Follow the money.

[zeestephen]

Uncle,

The smugglers had $134 billion in counterfeit Treasury bonds.

Not $1.3 billion.

[Thunder90]

The Russians have agreed to the Kyrgyz government keeping the base there, and probably encouraged it. Obama gave the Russians something in return that they COULDN’T refuse (Probably a very lopsided deal to keep the base)