John Daly: Central Asian Setback for the U.S. Military

From OilPrice.com:

The last few weeks have seen the U.S. Department of Defense suffer a number of setbacks in its effort to retain military influence overseas.

First came the startling announcement on 21 October, when President Obama announced that all American troops would be withdrawing from Iraq by 31 December under the terms of the Status of Forces Agreement. Accordingly, 39,000 U.S. soldiers will leave Iraq by the end of the year.

The deal breaker?

Washington’s demand for continued immunity for any remaining U.S. troops, and the Iraqi government of President Jalal Talibani couldn’t, or wouldn’t, deliver.

Now the handwriting’s apparently on the wall further east, as Kyrgyz president-elect Almazbek Atambaev firmly told the United States on 1 November to leave its Manas military air base outside the capital Bishkek when its lease expires in 2014.

http://oilprice.com/Geo-Politics/Asia/Central-Asian-Setback-for-the-U.S.-Military.html