Who's got a craving for some diplomacy?! I know I do. Here are a couple items of interest. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and four other US senators are near the end of a diplomatic trip to Germany, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. This trip did not have quite the fan fare as Obama's recent overseas visit, as it took me a little while to find out what the heck they were doing there. In a general statement Reid said they would focus on ‘progress on terrorism, global climate change, development and democracy.’
The most publicized part of the trip was Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where Reid and the others met with President Bakiyev, urging further political and developmental progress. Reid stated;
"Kyrgyzstan has made tremendous progress as a developing democracy," said Reid. "What we have seen here has been very impressive, but there is more to do to strengthen this democracy and ensure that it is long-lasting. President Bakiyev has a key role to play in that."
The group of senators then went on to visit the Manas Coalition Air Base, which hosts US forces on their way to duty in Afghanistan. On August 5, an interesting incident occurred slightly connecting the diplomatic visit and Manas base; Kyrg police raided an apartment rented by US officials and seized what they said were dozens of illegal firearms and weapons. Apparently, US officials explained that the weapons were used to train Kyrg military/police forces and had been put in the apartment because of organizational shortcomings and they promised to solve the problem. So it appears that it was just a misunderstanding, but for the Manas base, and the US presence it allows, this was not the first diplomatic flare up. A US Air Force serviceman shot and killed a Kyrg man in what was called a 'security threat, a US officer went missing for three days and claimed she was kidnapped, and a US tanker jet collided with a Kyrg passenger plane on the runway causing an emergency landing immediately after take-off. The US must be a polite, quiet guest in order to maintain Kyrg citizen and government support, and hopefully Reid's visit helped in this regard.
Kyrg President Bakiyev and his fellow Central Asian and Transcaucasian leaders Turkmenistan's President Berdymukhamedev, Tajik's President Rakhmon, Armenia's President Sarkisyan, and Azerbaijan's President Aliyev were treated to breakfast by Hu Jintao in Beijing the day after the Olympic Opening Ceremony's. Hu called them ‘old friends’ and said that they had been building mutual political trust and scored remarkable results in the cooperation in security, humanitarianism, economy and trade, and energy. The visiting leaders reportedly also heaped praise on Hu and China for its performance at the Opening Ceremony and upcoming Games. Sounds like a good time was had by all, but why wasn't Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili invited?
This just in, Secretary of State Rice will be traveling to France and then on to Tbilisi, Georgia to help broker a cease-fire that has failed to stick. President Bush also said that American troops will be sent into the troubled nation to oversee a ‘vigorous and ongoing’ humanitarian mission. Also of note, Georgia has pulled out of the Russia-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States, and the local Human Rights Center “Citizens Against Corruption” in Kyrgyzstan is advocating for the nation to do the same. This conflict seems to not be going away anytime soon and its impact may be having unforeseen consequences for Russia, China, the West, and of course for all former Soviet states.
