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Offline Chris

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Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Will No Longer Have Access to Critical Air Base
« on: February 05, 2009, 01:03:03 AM »
Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Will No Longer Have Access to Critical Air Base

After announcing $2 billion in loans from Russia, the president of Kyrgyzstan announced the United States will no longer have access to the Manas air base, the lone base U.S. commanders have permission to use in Central Asia and a key supply line for U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

"More than once we have discussed with our American partners the subject of the economic compensation to Kyrgyzstan for the presence [of the U.S. base], but unfortunately, we did not find an understanding from the United States," Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said Tuesday. "For over three years, we have been talking of the need to review the terms of the agreement, which do not satisfy us completely, yet we have not seen an understanding from the United States."

Less than 24 hours later, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he and his ex-Soviet allies want to cooperate with Washington in Afghanistan in return for no expansion among NATO membership and a U.S. reversal on a missile defense shield for Europe that Russia opposes.

The Kyrgyz Parliament has started drafting legislation demanding the exodus of the U.S. military, which pays $17.4 million annually to lease the base that sees 15,000 U.S. personnel and 500 tons of equipment pass through its doors each month. That lease agreement is part of $150 million given to the Kyrgyz government for various programs.


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Offline JohnnyReb

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Re: Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Will No Longer Have Access to Critical Air Base
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2009, 03:02:47 AM »
Must pay tribute to the Muslims.....didn't the Marines have to take care of this 200 years ago? You know, "Million for defense, not one dime for tribute."

Must be time to do it again.
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Offline formerlurker

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Re: Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Will No Longer Have Access to Critical Air Base
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2009, 06:25:54 AM »
Well know, isn't this interesting.   
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Offline djones520

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Re: Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Will No Longer Have Access to Critical Air Base
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2009, 09:12:30 AM »
As I was saying at TOS yesterday, this is going to cripple us in Afghanistan.  Few people have heard of the base, let alone the country, but it is absolutely vital to our Afghanistan mission.  Quite frankly, I don't see how Obama plans on getting that 30,000 troops and supplies into the country, in any expedient manner without Manas.

Russians got us by the throat on this one.  And I don't see Obama handling it well.
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Offline Splashdown

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Re: Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Will No Longer Have Access to Critical Air Base
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2009, 09:20:49 AM »
Quote from: djones520 on February 05, 2009, 09:12:30 AM
As I was saying at TOS yesterday, this is going to cripple us in Afghanistan.  Few people have heard of the base, let alone the country, but it is absolutely vital to our Afghanistan mission.  Quite frankly, I don't see how Obama plans on getting that 30,000 troops and supplies into the country, in any expedient manner without Manas.

Russians got us by the throat on this one.  And I don't see Obama handling it well.


Luckily for the U.S., we have crack foreign policy experts like Biden and Clinton who will fix this quickly.  Isn't that the load we were sold during the campaign? :whatever:
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Offline Eupher

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Re: Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Will No Longer Have Access to Critical Air Base
« Reply #5 on: February 05, 2009, 09:39:09 AM »
[Hillary, in conversation with The Anointed One:]

Barry, I got it! I got it!

Um, me and Joe B. will get on a plane and we'll go to Moscow! Yeah, that's the ticket! We then hook up with Putin - he's still running the show over there, right?

So Vlad and I will sit down at a nice state dinner (man, it's been a long time since I've had some Russian caviar) and we'll talk.

We'll talk about our mutual interests. And we'll talk about YOU, Barry! (Vlad will LOVE that part!)

And then Joe will talk about what a rough campaign it was. But how YOU prevailed, Barry! (You know I'm really SO PROUD of you, Barry! [gush])

But then toward the evening and after about the 3rd vodka gimlet (didja know that the Russkies have the BEST vodka, Barry? Try it sometime!), we'll get down to business and start talking about that country that has too many consonants in its name - uh, I think it's K-stan or something. Yeah, we'll just call it "K-stan." (It's easier, Barry. Have a heart with an old lady!)

Um, then after some discussion, we'll just talk about our economic stimulus plan and how wonderful it is, especially regarding line item number 3,436,934,654 that allocates $154 billion in immediate aid to Russia! Without any conditions! Even a requirement to pay it back! Just consider it a free gift from the citizens of America, all of whom LOVE YOU, Vlad!

Barry, I just KNOW that Vlad will see it our way! We'll just connect on that real gut level - just two very smart people who know what they want - and then when Russia goes ahead and annexes K-Stan (why not, Barry? Those people in K-stan used to be commies, right? What's wrong with goin' back to Mother Russia?), we'll be able to just move right into Iran.

Or Turkey.

Or even Georgia.

Something like that. Well, Barry, Joe and me are off to Andrews! Wish us well!

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Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Will No Longer Have Access to Critical Air Base
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2009, 09:54:36 AM »
Poorly played on our part, whether you blame the old or new admininstrations.  They have a base we need, they don't have any particular need for us to be there, and we don't want to meet their price for it.  Kind of an obvious outcome, really, in fundamentally Capitalist terms.
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Offline djones520

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Re: Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Will No Longer Have Access to Critical Air Base
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2009, 10:00:00 AM »
Quote from: DumbAss Tanker on February 05, 2009, 09:54:36 AM
Poorly played on our part, whether you blame the old or new admininstrations.  They have a base we need, they don't have any particular need for us to be there anymore, and we don't want to meet their price for it.  Kind of an obvious outcome, really, in fundamentally Capitalist terms.

Made a slight fix.  Despite the amount we pay them every year, we dump further millions into that country, with projects like rebuilding and improving their airport, buying JP-8 from their major gas companies, the money we pump into the local economy with our off base forays, and all the humanitarian work we do there (rebuilding schools, orphanages, etc...), and base improvement projects that we had hired local contracters for.

I was there when Bakiyev was put into power after the Tulip Revolution.  I remember there being a lot of hope that he wasn't a corrupt puppet of Russia like his predecessor.  I guess not.

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Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Will No Longer Have Access to Critical Air Base
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2009, 10:08:59 AM »
All true, and true everywhere else we put a footprint, but one of the tenets of wargaming consequences is that you look at capabilities, not intentions....a corollary of that is that there are no yesterdays, only tomorrows.
Particularly after Georgia, none of the former constituent republics of the USSR want to chance antagonizing the bear, and anyone who wants them to risk it better be willing to pony up for the ride, which they've obviously concluded we're not (probably correctly, looking ahead). 
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Offline Atomic Lib Smasher

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Re: Kyrgyzstan Says U.S. Will No Longer Have Access to Critical Air Base
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2009, 11:29:56 AM »
Quote from: JohnnyReb on February 05, 2009, 03:02:47 AM
Must pay tribute to the Muslims.....didn't the Marines have to take care of this 200 years ago? You know, "Million for defense, not one dime for tribute."

Must be time to do it again.

Yes, but Obama is not Jefferson. Maybe George Jefferson, but not Thomas Jefferson... that's for sure.
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