When I read today’s Kyrgyzstan piece from Joel Brinkley, a former foreign policy hack for the NYT, I was convinced it was a spoof.
The article, entitled “Why is Russia Bribing Kyrgyzstan?”, laments “the sheer gall behind Russia’s open challenge to Washington”, “Russia’s hostile intent”, “Russia’s determination to show Obama that Russia controls Central Asia”, and the limp wristed response from Obama and Biden, which has “let Russian leaders walk all over them”.
Of course, such knavish tricks as bribery are par for the course for the bastardly Russians: “Most people worldwide know America to be a decent, honest state… The world expects better of America. Not so for Russia. The response to the Kyrgyz bribery episode was muted, unremarkable. No one expects much that’s worthy of admiration from Moscow”.
This alone should make Times readers seriously consider the integrity of the international news they receive. But what even trumps Brinkley’s 1950’s Pravda style jingoism are his hypotheticals:
“Imagine the outrage”, he asks us, ” if the United States suddenly offered to give Kazakhstan, another Central Asian state, $2 billion if, in exchange, the Kazakh government terminated Russia’s lease for its space launch center in Baikonur. A hurt, angry outcry would sweep the globe”.
Perhaps he is referring to the hurt angry outcry that swept the globe after the US ‘bribed’ the Kygyz government to open the base in the first place?
According to the NY Times, “the U.S. base is the greatest source of foreign currency for the Kyrgyz,” Maynes says, referring to the steep user fees the U.S. government pays for the base at Manas. “For them to lose this would be a big thing.” The base contributes some $50 million to Kyrgyzstan’s economy each year, according to the Associated Press. In addition, Bishkek receives roughly $10 million in annual military aid from the United States”.
And how much did it cost the US to ‘flip’ another former Russian ally in 2001? According to the same article, “the Uzbek government received around $150 million in annual aid packages, as well as counterterrorism, intelligence, and law-enforcement training from U.S. government agencies in 2001 in order to open its military base”.
But here’s the kicker:
“The real message behind all this, it seems, is Russia’s determination to show Obama that Russia controls Central Asia. Well, the hypocrisy there is typical for Russia. For the last couple of years, Russia has been buying influence in Latin America and bragging about it. Central and South America are as much America’s neighborhood as Central Asia is Russia’s”.
If indeed Central and South America are as much America’s neighbourhood as Central Asia is Russia’s, and given that the US has two military bases in Central Asia and Russia has none in Latin America, then I expect Mr Brinkley would wholeheartedly support the installation of a couple of Russian battalions in, say, Mexico and Colombia?
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