Matt Northrup
3:36 PM
2/6/09
On Wednesday, the president of Kyrgyzstan ordered that the American military base in his country be closed. This announcement left the Obama administration scrambling to come up with an alternative to this crucial base. Officials of the Defense and State Department concluded that Russia had pressed Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, to close the American base. While Russia has stated that it will not impede America's fight against the Taliban, the nation has continuously sought to force American forces out of their bases in Central Asia after the September 11, 2001 attacks. American officials believe that Russia has offered over 2 billion dollars in loans and grants to Kyrgyzstan to force Americans out of the region.
While Russia has stated that they won't impede American forces in their fight against the Taliban, actions such as this serve only to hinder American efforts. The Obama administration are already facing an uphill struggle in their efforts to focus more military effort on Afghanistan than Iraq. It is pretty well known that Russia has long resented the United States' presence in Central Asia, and to a certain degree, they have a right to. I can't help but feel like this is another result of the Bush Administration's poor foreign policy. Hopefully in the future, outside nations will view America in a more positive light.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/world/asia/06kstan.html?ref=world
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