Clinton: We'll Reconsider Manas Air Base Role in 2014

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, visiting the Manas Air Base in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, has indicated that the US presence on the base will be reconsidered once US forces disengage from Afghanistan in 2014, as they hope to do. She indicated that a key jet fuel contract would go to a Kyrgyz company, obviously a sweetener for keeping the base, which has been a real bargaining chip between the US and Russia and Kyrgyzstan, where internal dynamics and foreign politics have kept the fate of Manas, a key logistical support base for the Afghan War, in play.

Among her comments:

Well, it is great to see all of you here and thanks for letting me come by and say thank you. Colonel, thanks for those kind words and it’s a great opportunity – I can see some Christmas decorations already going up back there – to express to you our appreciation for what you do every single day on behalf of our country. I just had some good visits with the president [Roza Otunbayeva, shown in pic above left with Clinton] and other officials of the government here, and then I just had the opportunity to meet with a large group of students and take a lot of questions about the United States, about our policies, about this air base, and to tell the people of Kyrgyzstan that we are going to support them as they try to establish a democratic state.

This has been a challenging year for them, and the United States has been with them, providing humanitarian assistance and other support, and we will continue to do so. They live in a region where there is not very much democracy, as you know. And part of our strong belief is that the United States has demonstrated conclusively that a democratic system that establishes the rule of law, that respects diversity, that gives people a chance to live their dreams, is by far the better system for anybody. It doesn’t matter where your country is or who you are or what your background might be.

And that’s part of the reason why you’re here. I want to thank the men and women of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing. I want to thank all of our soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen who are in transit to or from Afghanistan. We greatly appreciate what you’re doing. We think it is of critical benefit to advance the interests and the security of the United States, but also of countries like Kyrgyzstan and this region as well.