A panel of experts told Congress on Thursday that the United States tolerated a corrupt government in Kyrgyzstan to maintain access to a base that is key to the fighting in Afghanistan.
Why the United States can't keep buying off Kyrgyz leaders to keep its vital air base open.
Shortly before the uprising in Kyrgyzstan two weeks ago, online news sites posted a series of hard-hitting exposés accusing the family of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of skimming money from the public coffers, an allegation that touched a nerve in this poor country and galvanized opposition to his government.
IT LOOKS as if the Obama administration might have lucked out in Kyrgyzstan, the obscure Central Asian nation that is host to an important U.S. military base.
Den USA sollte es eine Lehre sein: autoritäre Regime nicht nur widerwärtige, sondern auch unzuverlässige Verbündete sind
A browser that bypasses censors has become the most popular way to access the Internet in Kazakhstan, a Central Asian state where sites critical of the government are often blocked, a Web statistics firm said.
State-controlled media outlets in Kazakhstan have been competing to outdo each other with flattering portrayals of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s one-on-one meeting with Barack Obama on April 11. Kazakhstani news outlets also indicate that Astana is planning to host an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe summit in November, apparently with or without a US endorsement.
Ousted Kyrgyz president gets support at home as opponents debate his fate
AP interview: Kyrgyz president refuses to step down, saying he's not to blame for bloodshed
Kazakhstan's authoritarian president Nursultan Nazarbayev touted himself as poster boy of a Washington summit on nuclear disarmament Monday -- and President Barack Obama, badly needing allies in Central Asia, was his main fan.
