U.S. Wants To Have A Military Base Near Afghanistan

A U.S. special operator teaches a member of the Uzbekistan National Guard how to detonate a flash bang grenade while performing tactical movement procedures during exercise Invincible Sentry in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan, February 26, 2020. Uzbekistan once allowed U.S. and allied military presence through its borders in support of the war in neighboring Afghanistan, but the country also has close ties to Russia and has banned foreign military presence on Uzbek territory for nearly a decade. © Staff Sergeant Steven Colvin/U.S. Special Operations Command Central  

The Guardian/AP: US aims to woo Central Asian leaders for secure base near Afghanistan 

Neighbours distrust US but Biden wants to ensure Taliban doesn’t let extremists have base in Afghanistan American diplomats are escalating a charm offensive with Central Asian leaders this week as they work to secure a nearby spot to respond to any resurgence of outside militants in Afghanistan after the US military withdraws. 

But even as high-level US diplomats head to the region, they are encountering doubts from Afghanistan’s neighbours about any such security partnerships with the US. 

This is in contrast to 2001, when Central Asian countries made their territory available for US bases, troops and other access when the US hit back for the 9/11 attacks plotted by al-Qaida in Afghanistan. 

There is distrust of the US as a reliable long-term partner, after an only partly successful war in Afghanistan and years of widely fluctuating US engagement regionally and globally, say former American diplomats. 

Russia also says a permanent US military base in its Central Asia sphere of influence would be “unacceptable”.

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WNU Editor: Central Asia is looking at Russia for protection from the Taliban, not from the U.S.. Not surprising,, the Kremlin is against a US presence .... Russia Opposes Possible US Military Deployment in Central Asia (TOLO News). More here .... Russia Cautions Central Asia Against Hosting US Forces (The Diplomat). 

My prediction. When it comes to having a base these Central Asian states are going to tell the U.S. to look elsewhere.  

Update: U.S., Russia Compete for Military Influence Among Afghanistan's Central Asia Neighbors (Newsweek)