US in Central Asia

The U.S. policy of politically and militarily penetrating Central Asia has multiple interrelated geostrategic purposes, the main ones being:

(1) To prevent, by means of obtaining political influence and military presence in as many of the former Soviet republics as possible, a re-establishment of Russian hegemony over its Near Abroad, and if possible to contribute toward Russia's long-term decline and ultimate disintegration;

(2) To use its military presence in Central Asia to threaten China's western flank, thereby to round out U.S. military encirclement of the Asian Dragon and thus to hamper its political, economic, and military capabilities as a potential rival of the United States;

(3) To take steps in Central Asia and its environs aimed simultaneously at increasing the diversity of oil and gas supplies for the U.S. and at minimizing China's influence in Central Asia, especially to limit its access to oil and gas from that region.

Right after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Washington enticed the Central Asia republics, through financial rewards, into agreeing to joint military exercises with U.S. troops.

Then, immediately following the September terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in 2001, the U.S. decided to overthrow the Taleban regime in Afghanistan. Washington pressed the Central Asian states for help in that war and gained, among other things, the right to use Uzbekistan's air base at Khanabad, and Kyrgystan's consent to build a large air base near Bishkek, a mere 300 km from China's western border.

Though remarkable for its audacity and unprecedented nature, the Pentagon's anti-Russian and anti-Chinese was essentially opportunistic in the sense that it took advantage of sudden opportunities to enhance America's power position vis-à-vis two potential challengers to its hegemonic role in the world,. This was different from the legitimate defense of America's vital national interests defined in terms of the security of its territory and population and intimately related needs.

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America's penetration of Central Asia was a response to windfall opportunities, but by the same token, if and when conditions turn out to be less than opportune, it is predictable that the U.S. will pull back its horns, as it had done over the years in North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Beirut, and Somalia.

  Zaman Daily article

On Tuesday, a regional alliance led by China and Russia and including Uzbekistan called for the United States and its coalition allies in Afghanistan to set a date for withdrawing from several states in Central Asia, reflecting growing unease at America's military presence in the region.

U.S.-led military forces have been deployed at air bases in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to back up the anti-terrorist campaign in neighboring Afghanistan.

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Uzbekistan indicated Thursday that it was reconsidering the future of a U.S. air base it hosts, threatening a key support base for the U.S.-led efforts in neighboring Afghanistan.

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The Foreign Ministry said the air base at Karshi-Khanabad, which U.S. forces use to support operations and supply humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, was only intended for combat operations in Afghanistan during the overthrow of the Taliban regime after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Uzbekistan also claimed that the United States hadn't paid takeoff and landing fees for all flights to and from the base, and had offered virtually no compensation for additional costs incurred by the Uzbek authorities for guarding the base, new infrastructure, ecological damage and inconvenience to the local population.

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The move, which throws into doubt the American military presence in the Central Asian nation, follows an increasing chill in relations between Washington and the authoritarian Uzbek leader Islam Karimov.

   article

And in light of Karimov's abysmal human rights record, it won't be a bit difficult to switch him from the ally to enemy column if we need to invade bomb Uzbekistan.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.