Kyrgyzstan Base Closure Decision ‘Final’

US Scrambles to Find Alternatives: Can Tajikistan Fill the Void?

While the United States has continued to express hope that it would retain its base outside of Bishkek, the government of Kyrgyzstan has reiterated that their decision to oust the US from the base is final, and that there are no discussions on them keeping the base.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed “regret” at the decision, and the United States is left scrambling to try to find other alternatives to the increasingly important overland supply route to Afghanistan. Russia has said they will cooperate, as has Tajikistan which has said it would allow humanitarian supplies into Afghanistan.

Many fingers have been pointed at Russia over the base closure, with reports that they offered Kyrgyzstan an enormous amount of aid to oust the US. Russia has been aiming at creating a military alliance in Central Asia called the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The alliance will include both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Belarus, giving them effective control over the northern border of Afghanistan.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.