U.S. will withdraw troops from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan at republics' request: expert
A game within a game…
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), an alliance grouping Russia, China and central Asian countries on Tuesday called for the US-led anti-terrorist coalition in Afghanistan to set a time frame for withdrawing its forces from member states. #msg-6882839
The United States is refusing to give legitimacy to the SCO even though the SCO by its nature has more authenticity than NATO in Asia.
The United States could withdraw its military bases from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan at the request of these republics rather then the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Kyrgyzstan has now called for a withdrawal date.
Kyrgyzstan's top diplomat, acting Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva, on Wednesday called once again for the U.S. to set a date for withdrawing troops based in Central Asia in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan, and said she didn't believe the demand would damage relations.
-Am
20:05
MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - The United States could withdraw its military bases from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan at the request of these republics rather then the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO asks.
"The SCO's demands for the Americans to set the deadline for their troops' withdrawal from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan obviously reveals a clash between the organization and American interests," said Konstantin Zatulin, the chairman of the CIS affairs committee of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.
According to Zatulin, the SCO unites five Eurasian states and China, and the demand above all showed that Russia and China were not happy about the American presence in the center of Eurasia. The expert said the situation was not particularly advantageous for America.
"If the countries where American troops are deployed put forward these demands, on what grounds can Americans extend their stay there?" asked Zatulin.
However, the expert said the U.S. would insist its presence in the region was essential in efforts to combat terrorism and drug trafficking.
"Judging by what happened in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, those military bases' presence has not had a positive influence on stability in the republics," Zatulin said. "I believe their presence has not helped reduce drug trafficking or the number of terrorist organizations in the region," he said.
"Moreover, America's 'flirting' with organizations like the Muslim Brothers is reminiscent of Cold War times, when America established the radical Taliban movement. This is a double-edged sword that can injure its owner," said the member of parliament.
Zatulin said the withdrawal was possible if Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, not the SCO, demanded it. When President Islam Karimov imposed restrictions on U.S. aircraft flights in Uzbekistan's airspace, American pilots had to respect the decision, he said.
The SCO leaders adopted a declaration at their meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 5. "Given that the intensive military phase of the antiterrorist operation in Afghanistan is over, the SCO member states believe it is necessary that members of the international antiterrorism coalition determ http://en.rian.ru/world/20050706/40856432.html
Kyrgyzstan repeats claim for U.S. troops pullout
18:25 2005-07-06 The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) wants to counteract the USA's supremacy in the world. At the meeting in Kazakhstan yesterday the leaders of the SCO member-countries called for the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition in Afghanistan to set a time frame for withdrawing its forces from member states. The claim has already raised concerns in the U.S., but Kyrgyzstan decided it was not enough and repeated the claim.
Kyrgyzstan's top diplomat, acting Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva, on Wednesday called once again for the U.S. to set a date for withdrawing troops based in Central Asia in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan, and said she didn't believe the demand would damage relations.
Otunbayeva told reporters she believed the situation in Afghanistan had stabilized to such a degree that it merited asking how long the forces would remain.
"The question we're posing is what is the term of presence," Otunbayeva said.
"We have put forward quite reasonable questions and I don't think our relations (with the United States) should be damaged," she said.
According to the AP, about 2,000 U.S. service members are deployed at air bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, according to the U.S. military. Another 200 French personnel are deployed at an air force base in Tajikistan.
The United States rejected the call for a deadline. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. military presence "is determined by the terms of our bilateral agreements, under which both countries have concluded that there is a benefit to both sides from our activities."
At the U.S. Defense Department, spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said that regarding U.S. bases in Uzbekistan, "it's a decision the Uzbek government has to make as to whether or not we would continue to operate from that."
Otunbayeva refused to say when the Kyrgyz leadership wanted the U.S. troops to leave.
Otunbayeva also said that Kyrgyzstan was seeking a balanced decision regarding Uzbek asylum seekers who fled a violent crackdown in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan on May 13. The country has been under enormous pressure from authorities in neighboring Uzbekistan to turn over more than 400 Uzbek residents that crossed the border after the crackdown.
The West has urged Kyrgyzstan's new leadership to fulfill its international obligations to treat asylum seekers properly.
"We'll do everything to get out of this situation with dignity and in dialogue with Uzbekistan and the international community," Otunbayeva said.
Uzbek authorities say some of the asylum seekers committed crimes in Uzbekistan.
Kyrgyzstan's interim leader who won an overwhelming victory in presidential elections said Monday that the presence of a US base in the Central Asian nation should be reconsidered. Kurmanbek Bakiyev also said his landslide win Sunday "could without exaggeration be called a confident victory of our people's revolution." He promised to fight endemic corruption and reduce the power of the presidency by shifting some functions to the prime minister to have constructive relations with opposition politicians.
With more than three-quarters of the ballots counted from 95 percent of the districts, Bakiyev received nearly 89 percent of the vote, giving him an insurmountable lead over five challengers, said Central Election Commission chief Tuigunaali Abdraimov. Bakiyev's nearest rival in Sunday's vote tallied less than 4 percent.
A joint foreign observer team from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Parliament said that the vote showed "tangible progress" in meeting international standards on free and fair elections.
Bakiyev's comments about the US base will strike a worrying note for Washington.
"Afghanistan has had presidential and parliamentary elections. The situation there has stabilized. So now we may begin discussing the necessity of US military forces' presence," Bakiyev said. "When and how it will happen, time will show."
The comments echoed a recent call by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an alliance led by Russia and China that includes Kyrgyzstan, which said the United States should set a date for the withdrawal of its bases in his country and in neighboring Uzbekistan.
Both bases support US-led coalition forces' activities in Afghanistan.
“I think that since Afghanistan is sovereign, since Afghanistan in fact has an elected president, who was elected freely and fairly, then the relationship we have with Afghanistan is with that government.” She argued US troops were still needed in the Central Asian country.
Rice is basing the U.S. reason for staying in Afghanistan on the false premise that Afghanistan is truly a sovereign country that recently held a legitimate election.
If Afghanistan was truly a sovereign country, then, of course, the least one could expect is that it would have the right to control of detainees on its own soil and to restriction of military operations on its own soil. Bush's response was to completely ignore Karzai's requests, saying only that U.S. operations in Afghanistan were on a "cooperate and consult" basis with the Afghan government.
Bush displays Karzai at the White House to trumpet the great democracy created in Afghanistan, introducing him as the first elected leader in Afghanistan in 5000 years (who was elected in 3000 BC?); at the same time, he makes it very clear that Afghanistan's sovereignty is a mockery and that it is no more than a colonial protectorate of the United States. And nobody wants to see a contradiction. Welcome to democracy in the 21st century. #msg-6468877
Not only is Afghanistan not a sovereign nation but it is doubtful the election that installed Bush’s man, Karzai, was legitimate.
Thus we have installed our man in Afghanistan. Originally UN officials estimated there were 9.8m eligible adults, and as the percentage registered climbed ever higher, the Afghan government and US leaders loudly praised this as an achievement for democracy.
When the total reached 9.9m UN officials in Kabul hastily upped the estimated total of voters to 10.5 million, arguing that, with no accurate census, the original figure could be up to a million out - due to the effects of war, civil strife and mass migration. #msg-3904070
Putin blasted 'double standards' adopted by the US and the European Union on 'democratic elections' saying that it is well known that in Afghanistan 'sacks full of ballots were brought in from neighbouring Pakistan' #msg-4937060
-Am
Rice Rules Out US Troop Pullout From Central Asia Agencies Arab News
BEIJING, 11 July 2005 —
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday rejected calls by a regional grouping headed by Russia and China for a deadline for US forces to pull out of bases in Central Asia, including Afghanistan.
The presidents of the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which also comprises Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, signed a declaration at a summit last week calling for deadlines to be set on the closure of air bases used by US forces in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
The bases were set up after the United States launched a military campaign to overthrow the Taleban regime in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Afghanistan is not part of the regional grouping and did not sign the agreement.
“The one country that said that the United States should stay in Afghanistan was Afghanistan,” Rice said on the last day of her visit to China as part of a four-nation Asia tour.
“I think that since Afghanistan is sovereign, since Afghanistan in fact has an elected president, who was elected freely and fairly, then the relationship we have with Afghanistan is with that government.” She argued US troops were still needed in the Central Asian country.
“There is still a fight going on in Afghanistan. The United States and others are training Afghan forces. The Afghan army is coming along. Its numbers are coming along. It’s capability is coming along. We’re training them in counterterrorism matters,” Rice said.
“But there are still a lot of terrorist activities in Afghanistan ... It is our understanding that the people of Afghanistan want and need the help of US armed forces.”
The SCO’s agreement reflects ongoing rivalry between Washington and Moscow over their countries’ respective roles in the former Soviet Union, as well as China’s apprehensions about US troops being stationed right next door.
Rice later arrived in Thailand’s resort island of Phuket yesterday to assess post-tsunami reconstruction efforts on the second leg of her Asian tour.
She begins her program today with a working brunch with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and meets with Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon before embarking on a brief tour of the region battered by December’s deadly waves that left some 5,400 people dead in the kingdom.
US bases in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan not indispensable: Pentagon
Given that the United States has attempted takeovers in both Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and in doing so has soured relations between the United States and these two countries and that both countries are SCO members it is hard to see how the SCO bullied them.
If the SCO backs the United States out of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan they will gain prestige on the world stage.
-Am
WASHINGTON (AFP) Jul 15, 2005 US bases in Uzbekistan and in Kyrgyzstan are not "critical" to US interests although Central Asia is of importance, Pentagon spokesmen said Thursday, after the countries pointed to the bases' future closure.
"But the installations -- none of them are so critical to our operations that we couldn't do fine and work around them if we weren't operating from those places any longer," Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said.
"There's no single installation anywhere in the world that we must have and can't live without, so we'll make adjustments if we're not going to use those installations going forward," he said.
Later, at a news conference for foreign journalists, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, underlined Central Asia, and Uzbekistan's importance to the United States.
"Central Asia is important to the United States for lots of reasons, not just for operations in Afghanistan... Security and stability in Central Asia is an important concept, and those that can bring security and stability ought to be welcomed in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is a very important country over there," said Myers.
The Pentagon made its comments after Kyrgyzstan interim President Kurmanbek Bakiev Monday said his nation wanted to discuss a US withdrawal as mentioned in a declaration a week earlier by the so-called Shanghai group.
General Myers said the Shanghai group's communique was not "particularly useful". "It looks to me like two very large countries were trying to bully some smaller countries. That's how I view it," Myers said.
The six-member Shanghai Co-operation Organization -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- last week issued a statement calling on Washington to set a date for US troops' withdrawal from the two nations' territory.
And Uzbekistan's foreign minister last week underlined that the US base on its territory was only a temporary arrangement as part of the US-led military operation in Afghanistan, and that it would end alongside Operation Enduring Freedom.
Washington is also under pressure to exercise sanctions against Uzbekistan if it fails to probe a crackdown earlier this year on demonstrators in Andijan in which between 200 and 700 people died.
I read a Bloomberg article this morning that really caught my attention. The article is headlined with, “India Oil Chief Says Attack on Iran Would Be Stupid.” Now that’s a pretty simple statement to understand, but let’s look a little deeper. In the text of the article the following countries were mentioned: India, Iran, USA, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Venezuela, and Sudan. Four of the countries listed are members, or soon-to-be members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The core countries of the group include China, Russia, Brazil and India, with Iran and Venezuela as probable new entrants. One thing I found surprising about the Bloomberg column is that the writer NEVER mentioned once about the existence of the international trade group known of as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It appears to me that Bloomberg intended to downplay the significance of this very powerful trade alliance. They are working feverishly behind the scenes to secure sources of supply (with each other) for energy and other key commodity items to meet the growing demands.
Subir Raha, the government-appointed head of India’s largest oil company, Oil & Natural Gas, said it would be stupid to attack Iran as it would risk imposing record oil prices on the global economy. Raha partially blamed the current high oil prices on the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and said, “You launch one more attack and you can’t even guess where the speculation will go.”
The U.S. Administration must be quite concerned over the developments since they sent David Mulford, the U.S. Ambassador to India, to speak with India’s Oil Minister on March 10th to express concern about India’s plan to import gas from Iran through a pipeline. Less than a week later on March 16th, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was in New Delhi and said that the U.S. has “concerns” about India’s plan to buy gas from Iran. (Remember that Iran has also struck a deal with China to supply liquefied natural gas.) China is in the process of building a special fleet of ships designed for the sole purpose of shipping LNG from Iran to China. If another big chunk of Iran’s LNG production goes to India, how much will be left to ship into the USA?
The Indian response seems to be realistic in my mind. “I see no reason why India's priorities should be subservient to U.S. priorities,” said Raha, who has worked for state-run oil companies for the past 35 years. “The U.S. is chasing oil and gas as badly as China or India or anybody else.” The article went on to say that Oil & Natural Gas (India’s national oil company since 1959) will buy 20% of Iran’s Yadavaran oil field and may take a stake in the Juffair field. Oil & Natural gas also has contracts with Venezuela, Sudan and Russia for drilling new fields and India is also in talks to acquire assets of Yukos Oil Company from Russia. To play it fair, India is also in talks with Exxon Mobil to discuss deep-water drilling off India’s coast.
The big picture has India and China doing deals with Russia, Iran and Venezuela…not to mention Europe buying roughly 80% of their oil from Russia. These are clearly energy deals centered on the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. You won’t hear much about the SHO in the mainstream media, but when the countries mentioned get into the headlines, remember the close trade alliances they have with each other that do not involve the USA. It’s no wonder Iran and other countries are working to establish an oil trading exchange that will be denominated in euros rather than U.S. dollars…we’ll see if they can pull it off or if the U.S. will insist that all oil be traded in dollars…it’s becoming quite the battle royal!!
U.S. gains indefinite continued use of air base in Kyrgyzstan
In remarks at the start of his meeting with Bakiyev, Rumsfeld congratulated his government on the conduct of the election.
He said the voting was free and fair, as assessed by international monitors, and that this would bolster relations with the United States and other countries.
This is not true. This was an attempted U.S. takeover of Kyrgyzstan and the U.S. is not finished with Kyrgzstan.
US money and personnel behind Kyrgyzstan’s “Tulip Revolution” #msg-5871042
-Am
U.S. gains indefinite continued use of air base in Kyrgyzstan The Associated Press
TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2005
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld won assurances Tuesday that U.S. forces can continue to use an airbase near the Kyrgyz capital to support U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.
'The base at Manas will stay as long as the situation in Afghanistan requires,' Maj. Gen. Ismail Isakov, the Kyrgyz defense minister, said during a news conference with Rumsfeld.
After his election on July 10, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev had said that in light of progress toward stabilizing Afghanistan it was time to consider a U.S. exit from Manas International Airport, where about 1,000 U.S. troops are stationed.
At the news conference, Rumsfeld declined to comment on the future of U.S. access to Manas, saying it was a matter for the Kyrgyz government to decide.
But as he was approaching his plane to depart, Rumsfeld told a small group of U.S. troops that they should not wonder about the future U.S. presence in Kyrgyzstan, saying they should not be thinking about packing their bags any time soon.
In remarks at the start of his meeting with Bakiyev, Rumsfeld congratulated his government on the conduct of the election.
He said the voting was free and fair, as assessed by international monitors, and that this would bolster relations with the United States and other countries.
The U.S. use of Manas for air support operations in Afghanistan contributes about $50 million (?41.4 million) a year to the Kyrgyz economy, according to U.S. officials.
Rumsfeld aides said he emphasized in meetings with Bakiyev and Isakov that military operations in Afghanistan are not winding down and still require logistics and other support from bases in the region.
At the start of a three-day tour of the region on Monday, Rumsfeld said the U.S. military could sustain its operations in Afghanistan even if the United States lost access to a key air base in neighboring Uzbekistan.
'We're always thinking ahead. We'll be fine,' Rumsfeld told reporters traveling with him from Washington.
The Uzbek government has raised doubt about continued U.S. access to Karshi-Khanabad air base, which has been used as a staging point for operations in Afghanistan since the start of the war in October 2001.
It was Rumsfeld's second visit in four months to Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic of 5 million people that also hosts a Russian base.
A regional organization led by Russia and China issued a statement calling for the United States to set a timetable for withdrawing its forces from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Tensions in Washington's relations with Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian nations stem partly from an eruption of violence in mid-May in the Uzbek city of Andijan.
The Uzbek government blamed armed, organized terrorists and said about 175 people were killed, some by government forces. Others claimed that up to 1,500 had died at the hands of government troops, including a large number of innocent bystanders.
When the United States urged the Uzbek government to allow an international fact-finding mission, President Islam Karimov refused and imposed new limits on U.S. use of the Karshi-Khanabad air base.
Some nongovernment experts on Central Asia blame the State Department for not taking the initiative to develop a regional policy that assures Kyrgyzstan and others in the area that the United States' interest in the region goes beyond fighting terrorists in Afghanistan. http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/26/asia/web.0726kyrgyz.php
Donald Rumsfield discusses military collaboration with Kyrgyzstan
BISHKEK. July 26. KAZINFORM /Vladimir Dobrovolskiy/ - Having arrived in Kyrgyzstan on a two-day working visit, the SA Defense Minister, Donald Rumsfeld, held a meeting with acting Defense Minister of Kyrgyzstan Ismail Iskakov in Bishkek today.
The meeting was devoted to discussion of bilateral military collaboration. In particular they talked about establishment and enhancement of the training base, development of military commands’ infrastructure, and fortification of Kyrgyzstan’s Armed Forces aircraft potential. The parties discussed creation of united Technology Information Center of Kyrgyzstan Armed Forces, development of material and technical basis of Bishkek Higher Military Academy.
The USA Defense Minister will meet with acting Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev today. He will also meet with Kyrgyzstan Security Council Secretary Miroslav Niyazov and acting Kyrgyzstan Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva. After visiting Kyrgyzstan, Donal Rumsfeld will depart to Dushanbe. http://www.inform.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=132542
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