Secretary Of State Rice Negotiates Use Of Airfield In War On Terror

After several rounds of difficult negotiations, it was announced Tuesday the United States can maintain its military presence in Kyrgyzstan, after all. The move is seen as vital to the war on terrorism in nearby Afghanistan.

In a joint press conference, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev (above) stated a formal agreement had been reached allowing continued US operations at an airfield in the predominantly-Muslim country.

"It's important to have this capability," said a senior US official in the delegation.

The agreement is especially important to the United States, as troops in neighboring Uzbekistan have been evicted from a base at Karshi-Khanabad, or K-2, by that country's government. It also follows a July 5 statement by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (made up of Russia and China, as well as Kyrgyzstan and its Central Asia neighbors) asking the US to now leave the area as operations in Afghanistan are seen as winding down.

In exchange for the extended US presence, Kyrgyzstan is now requesting additional payment for facilities and services provided to US troops occupying the air field since immediately after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, as well as providing the existing Kyrgyz government an accounting of funds paid to the former government of that country, which was ousted last March. Kyrgyz officials state the funds were stolen by the family of the country's former leader.

The US presently pays Kyrgyzstan between $40-$50 million per year, according to the Washington Post.

The US delegation had no immediate response to the requests, although the US has agreed to discussion of the past payments. A team has been sent to Bishkek, the country's capital, to discuss the matter.

Despite the agreement, the loss of K-2 is seen as a setback to US operations, as Uzbekistan shares a border with Afghanistan.

"We can pick up a lot of what happened at K-2 here [in Kyrgyzstan] -- not all of it, but some," the senior official said. "These were interactive bases with interactive capabilities. You run a less efficient operation if you lose K-2."

Rice is scheduled to travel next to Afghanistan and Kazakhstan Wednesday, and Tajikistan Thursday. She is also considering a stop in Pakistan to show support for that country following this weekend's devastating earthquake.

FMI: www.state.gov