Central Asia's Uncomfortable Bedfellows

U.S. history has two days that will live in infamy — Dec. 7 and Sept. 11. After each attack, the United States found itself fighting in Asia, a more difficult place for it to project power than Europe.

For purely logistical reasons, Washington rents the Manas air base, which is only 20 kilometers fr om the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. The United States is not seeking to win any hearts and minds, but there are some sensitivities involved. Named for the country’s national hero, the Manas base was originally built by the Soviets, and its flight school’s graduates include Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Because other routes, such as the Khyber Pass on the Afghan-Pakistani border, are frequently attacked by the Taliban, Manas bears quite heavy traffic in troops and materiel, especially fuel. In March, 50,000 troops were moved through the base and 12.5 million gallons of jet fuel were pumped. The corruption around the sale of fuel to NATO stank to high heaven and was one of the reasons for the April 7 revolt.