From pinr.com
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's October 10-13 tour through Central Asia marked Washington's attempts to secure its ties with the former Soviet republics. The Bush administration finds these ties especially important now that it is being evicted from its military base in Uzbekistan. Relations between the United States and Uzbekistan have weakened recently; indeed, while the trip saw Rice visiting Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, she did not visit Uzbekistan.Instead, Rice called Uzbekistan "out of step with what is happening in [Central Asia] as a whole." Her comments close the recent chapter of U.S.-Uzbek relations. With the loss of the U.S. military base in Uzbekistan, the United States has moved quickly to prevent a further loss of influence in Central Asia. With the recent announcement by Kyrgyzstan that the U.S. could keep its airbase at Manas airport, Washington appears to be partly successful in this aim. However, if conditions in Afghanistan stabilize, calls for a U.S. withdrawal from Central Asia are expected to increase.