SCO Powers Balk at Aiding Kyrgystan
Apparently, the OSCE, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, will soon be sending Peacekeepers to Kyrgystan to police the upheaval that has followed the recent coup that deposed a corrupt and unpopular President Bakyev. Though Kyrgystan is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is China and Russia’s regional platform, China and Russia have stood down. Not only have they not rushed to the aid of their beleaguered member state, but they have turned away from formal pleas for assistance from the new government, which, we are told is more sincere, less corrupt and more popular than the deposed President Bakyev. It appears that they have given over a corner of their world to the West. Why? Is it evidence of internal weakness or weakness within the SCO? Is it due to a conciliatory political pragmatism that defers to the real power in the world? Maybe they think they are giving a bone to the wild dog pack?
I am sure there are all kinds of complex regional currents in the conflict. It is true that Kyrgystan is a member of the SCO, and for purposes of local trade and regional solidarity, that makes sense. However, the explanation for Russia and China’s reticence is very simple. The US has it’s largest supply base for the Afghan war located in Kyrgystan. The US has spent a fortune unconditionally supporting deposed President Bakyev to maintain this base, as they did with the corrupt government before him. In that light, this base has most likely been a thorn in the side of the leaders of the SCO all along, so their boundaries are already compromised. Now, if they go in to assist the new government in regaining order, their efforts will ultimately fall in one of two directions. Either they will be expending their resources to protect US interests in the region, or they will be drawn into a proxy war against the US and it’s pawns.
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