![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Apr. 8th, 2010 11:29 amKyrgyzstan is a central Asian nation which shares a border with China (the Tien Shan mountains form the natural border between them). It's a secular Muslim country. The Silk Road passed through it, and historically it is tied to the Mongolian Khanates and was at the center of the Manichaean sphere of influence.
Most Americans have probably never heard of it, though we have a military base there, a former Soviet base we are leasing from the Kyrgyz government. It's a strategic supply point for US forces in Afghanistan. The base is there so that it wouldn't be in Pakistan, which would be problematic for numerous reasons, and also because relations soured with the Uzbek government and the US had to close its base there.
Yesterday many of the Kyrgyz people took to the streets to complain about rapid rises in utility bills and the cost of living, and in the ensuing street violence -- over 100 people were killed -- the protesters ousted the president and overthrew the government. So far I haven't heard anything about how spontaneous this was versus whether it was arranged by the opposition (who was curiously poised to assume power quickly). I think, though, this is the kind of scenario that keeps CIA folks up at night. The lease on the military base expires in June and the new junta has not expressed much interest in renewing it.
Most Americans have probably never heard of it, though we have a military base there, a former Soviet base we are leasing from the Kyrgyz government. It's a strategic supply point for US forces in Afghanistan. The base is there so that it wouldn't be in Pakistan, which would be problematic for numerous reasons, and also because relations soured with the Uzbek government and the US had to close its base there.
Yesterday many of the Kyrgyz people took to the streets to complain about rapid rises in utility bills and the cost of living, and in the ensuing street violence -- over 100 people were killed -- the protesters ousted the president and overthrew the government. So far I haven't heard anything about how spontaneous this was versus whether it was arranged by the opposition (who was curiously poised to assume power quickly). I think, though, this is the kind of scenario that keeps CIA folks up at night. The lease on the military base expires in June and the new junta has not expressed much interest in renewing it.
