Well, it looks like the Kyrgyz government has indeed decided to officially order the removal of American forces from the Manas air base. US officials assert that negotiations were still on going, but Kyrgyz officials stated that the deal was as good as done. It appears that Moscow has had its way as their large loan and aid payments to Bakiyev's regime, combined with what appears to be declining Kyrgyz-US relations, has pushed Bishkek into Russia's sphere once again. Alexander Lukin argues that it was mainly domestic reasons why Bakiyev and the Kyrgyz government decided to turn their backs on the Americans. He cites growing civilian dissent against the foreign troops, pollution, an incident where a Kyrgyz truck driver was killed by a US soldier, and finally just the plain lack of progress in stabilizing Afghanistan and curtailing the drug trade and Islamic extremism. The Obama administration and US military are still no doubt trying to renegotiate this deal and probably offering the cash strapped Bishkek government more money and aid, but it will likely not be enough. In fact, Russia's loan and aid could have come with the condition that US forces were booted out, making a deal near impossible to work out without Bakiyev turning his back on Moscow. It has been reported that part of Moscow's loan will be to build a new, much needed hydroplant in Kyrgyzstan and I just can't help but think that if the US much earlier put aid forth in support of such a project, things may have turned out differently.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
