My bad. I read the profiteering line as another "war for oil" thing.
The Uzbek situation relates to the Iraqi situation in that it would be easy for Washington to look the other way and keep the base. Bush I would have done it and Clinton would have done it. Bush deserves credit for keeping the tactics consistent with the goals, especially when it would have been so easy to do the opposite due to the lack of media attention.
I also think the loss of the base will present a significant, though not insurmountable, difficulty for forces in the region.
It all ties together in terms of "draining the swamp" in the Middle East.
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08-02-2005, 08:18 PM
