Afghanistan

[xoxoxoBruce]

Soviets? Since the USSR no longer exists I think Soviets is passé.

Originally Posted by classicman

Um, cuz they're Russians??

We didn't beat 'em, we bankrupted 'em. Now the oil/gas business has refilled the coffers, Putin wants to return Russia to their place as a World power, an influential player. With NATO, which use to be the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, pushing far from the North Atlantic, I can understand Russia's concern.

[classicman]

It was a joke tom - Geez - go get yer frickin tinfoil hat back wouldja?

[tw]

Originally Posted by classicman

It was a joke tom - Geez - go get yer frickin tinfoil hat back wouldja?

Maybe you should go to clown school?

[classicman]

Why? You got that spot all sewn up.

Is there absolutely no levity in your life?

Live a little - Sheesh.

[TheMercenary]

I wonder where they will move to? How about Georgia? That would piss the Russians off.

Kyrgyzstan issues eviction notice to key US base

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) - The United States was on the verge of being kicked out of its only military outpost in Russia's historic backyard after Kyrgyzstan Friday gave U.S. forces six months to vacate an air base that serves as a key supply hub for troops in Afghanistan.
The Manas base, created shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, at first served as a symbol of what seemed like a budding strategic partnership between the U.S. and Russia.

But as relations between the two countries soured in recent years, the base came to represent the renewed competition between the two former Cold War rivals.

Maj. Damien Pickart, a spokesman for the U.S. base, said he expected military officials to begin preparations for leaving.

"If they tell us that our time is up—which they've done today—then we'll start the necessary preparations to move operations," he added. "I don't know if it will take the full six months," he said.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Soviets? Since the USSR no longer exists I think Soviets is passé.

We didn't beat 'em, we bankrupted 'em. Now the oil/gas business has refilled the coffers, Putin wants to return Russia to their place as a World power, an influential player. With NATO, which use to be the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, pushing far from the North Atlantic, I can understand Russia's concern.

ummm, excsuse me, but they bankrupted themselves.

[tw]

From the NY Times of 23 Jun 2009 - or what happens when your government is not trying to make enemies of everyone:

Kyrgyzstan Allows Limited U.S. Access
Kyrgyzstan, which four months ago said it would close an American air base central to the NATO mission in Afghanistan, appeared Tuesday to partially reverse its decision. ...

Kyrgyz officials said the United States could use the base in Central Asia as a transit center to supply NATO forces in Afghanistan. Official details of the agreement were not immediately available, but it appeared that the United States had sharply increased the rent that it paid to avoid complete closure.

In February, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev gave the United States six months to vacate the airbase, which has been used since 2001 as a refueling stop and transit hub for about 15,000 troops and 500 tons of cargo a month headed for Afghanistan.

[classicman]

Under the plan approved Tuesday by a Kyrgyz parliamentary committee, the United States will more than triple the rent that it pays to use the Manas airbase.

Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbayev has told lawmakers the U.S. will pay the Kyrgyz government $60 million a year for rent. The previous rent was just under $17.5 million. Sarbayev says the U.S. has also agreed to pay at least $36 million for airport improvements, $30 million for new navigational equipment and more than $40 million for economic development and anti-drug trafficking measures.

The deal appears to place new restrictions on U.S. activities at the base, only shipping of non-military supplies.

Hell of a deal -
Triple the rent
+36 million in improvements
+30 million for equiptment
+40 million for "economic development"
AND More restrictions - "only shipping of non-military supplies."

What a deal! I'm thrilled - Who was the sharp tack who negotiated that? The primary purpose of that base was to supply the troops in Afghanistan.

[TheMercenary]

Well I guess they figured out that we really needed to have access and we obviously will pay whatever they want for it. Hell, Obama can just order them to print some more money to pay the costs.

[tw]

Originally Posted by classicman

[b][u][
What a deal! I'm thrilled - Who was the sharp tack who negotiated that?

Who was the mental midget (and his wacko extremist supporters) who turned every K'stan nation so adversarial against us? In 2001, every K'stan nation was a strong American supporter. Who is the idiot who converted an American military victory into a years of Taliban victories?

Considering the prices they were demanding (something below $1billion), this new price tag is a fire sale. But then we are again paying the price for wackos whose brain is so minuscule as to encourage these problems. Same wackos even voted for George Jr because they love pissing off the entire world.

We are paying for debts incurred by those with the lowest intelligence - wacko extremists. This bill is just another example of a mess created four plus years ago - as even defined in an open letter to the American public by that nation's former Ambassador to America and Canada. He basically blames our new adversarial relationship on American extremism that even encouraged corruption in his nation.

We still have massive bills to pay thanks to wackos. Even Mission Accomplished was left off the budget so that costs would not be apparent. Just another example of what happens when enemies of the American military screw us by subverting what the military did in 2002. Same wackos even all but protected bin Laden - because a political agenda is more important than reality.

A long list of debts will come due over the next 10 years. This airport rental is obviously a good deal considering how much wackos wanted to piss off the world. We so pissed off every K’stan nation that this remains our last airbase. They can charge all they want - free market principles. Welcome to but another increased debt directly traceable to wackos previously in the White House. Welcome to a war we must fight all over again because wackos (with so much contempt for the military) subverted those 2002 victories.

[Aliantha]

My cousin is over there now and will be for an extended period of time.

He has some interesting stories to tell after his first trip. I'm sure there'll be more after this one.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by tw

Blah blah blah

So its a great deal - gotcha.

By the way, I think you set a new ponal record for the number of times you got wacko extremists in one post.

[tw]

Originally Posted by classicman

By the way, I think you set a new ponal record for the number of times you got wacko extremists in one post.

I have always had a bad habit of being too politically correct.

[sugarpop]

I think we need to get the fuck outta both Iraq and Afghanistan.

[classicman]

ponal = personal