● Gli USA sono oggi molto interessati al Kirghizistan, la base aerea di Manas è un centro importante di transito e di appoggio per le operazioni militari statunitensi in Afghanistan; ogni mese vi transitano 30 000 militari;
o nel 2009 dopo la minaccia del governo Bakijev, sollecitato da Mosca, di chiuderla, gli Usa hanno accettato di triplicare l’affitto a $60 mn., ignorando la corruzione e la brutalità del governo Bakijev.
● Gli Usa devono prepararsi a contrastare nuovi sforzi di Russia e Cina per convincere i nuovi leader kirghizi ad estromettere gli americani.
– L’Amministrazione Obama può dimostrarsi un buon alleato appoggiando i valori democratici e un governo pulito, entrambi obiettivi a cui il nuovi leader dicono di puntare, una mossa che non faranno certamente né Mosca né Pechino
o e questo può aiutare gli americani a mantenere la base.
– Askar Akayev, il primo presidente post-sovietico del Kirghizistan venne salutato come il più promettente leader dell’area;
accusato di corruzione, estromesso 5 anni fa con la rivoluzione dei Tulipani, il suo successore, Kurmanbek Bakijev fu acclamato come riformista, ma risultò presto guasto.
Editorial – Name That Revolution
We have become depressingly accustomed to the wilting of revolutions in former Soviet republics, whether Orange in Ukraine, Rose in Georgia or, now, the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan.
– There was a time when Kyrgyzstan’s first post-Soviet president, Askar Akayev, was considered the most promising leader in the neighborhood. When he was accused of gross corruption and pushed out five years ago (the Tulip Revolution), his successor, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was welcomed as a reformer. He quickly went bad.
– Kyrgyzstan needs to break the cycle. And the United States needs to help encourage the change.
– Kyrgyzstan may seem a world away. For better, and too often worse, Washington has become a very interested player. The American military installation at the Manas airport outside the capital of Bishkek is a critical transit and support center for United States operations in Afghanistan. As many as 30,000 military personnel pass through the base monthly, runways are crowded with C-17 cargo planes and KC-135 refueling tankers.
Washington has been willing to pay a high price to hold on to Manas. Last year, after the Bakiyev government — egged on by Moscow — threatened to close the base, the Obama administration agreed to triple the rent, to $60 million. And it was far too willing to overlook President Bakiyev’s brutal and corrupt ways — a fact the new leadership has bitterly criticized.
– The United States should be prepared to counter new efforts by Russia and China to persuade the new Kyrgyz leaders to evict the Americans. The Obama administration can prove its value as an ally by committing from the start to support democratic values and clean government. Kyrgyzstan’s new leaders say they are committed to both.
– It’s certainly a pitch neither Moscow nor Beijing will make. It may help the Americans keep the base. It may even help Kyrgyzstan get a cleaner and more democratic government.