Kyrgyzstan and Obama's Effort to Improve US-Russo Relations

Okay, this post might call for a little geo-political background. Kyrgyzstan is a former Soviet State that has enjoyed its independence for nearly two decades now, but they've maintained good relations with Russia. Well, after September 11th and the start of the War on Terrorism in Afghanistan, NATO has been using Kyrgyzstan as a supply hub. The supply routes leaving Kyrgyzstan have been a vital part of the war effort in Afghanistan and an important piece of that is the US-operated Transit Center at Manas (commonly called Ganci Air Base) at Manas International Airport in the northern part of the country. The problem, however, is that this puts US troops and military aircraft next door to China and very close to Russia. As a result of this, China and Russia have been lobbying Kyrgyzstan to close the base since 2005. Kyrgyzstan has come close to closing the base, but the US has agreed to increased tributes to the government to keep the base operational.

Well, now there's chaos in Kyrgyzstan as ethnic extremism has been on the rise and Kyrgyzstan is unable to keep the situation in hand. Militants have been attacking NATO convoys and threatening to tear the country apart. Since the United States is kind of busy at the moment, Kyrgyzstan has asked Russia to send additional troops to their country (Russia already has a handful of servicemen there) to help get the situation under control. Russia accepted. Now we have a situation in Kyrgyzstan where US and Russian soldiers, each with their own opposing interests for an international airport both countries are going to be using for their respective missions. If John McCain was President, it wouldn't take much effort to imagine the catastrophe this might turn into.

However, because President Obama has been trying to rebuild relations with Russia through President Medvedev, there's a lower probability of an international incident or the complete loss of Ganci Air Base. After all, Presidents Obama and Medvedev have signed an agreement that would allow US Troops to be transported through Russia, which is really remarkable. So, if you think about it, compared to US troops moving through the Russian Federation, the presence of US troops in Kyrgyzstan (which is on the opposite side of Kazakhstan from Russia) is less intimidating than it would have been with President Bush or McCain at the helm of our international affairs. Granted, the situation is highly volatile, but I actually have faith enough in Obama and his team to like the chances of Ganci remaining a US/NATO installation with a simultaneous Russian military presence in Kyrgyzstan.

Some people will say Obama has caved to the Russians; but if it was "caving," it actually made us stronger. His domestic policies suck, but he knows what he's doing internationally.