May 31, 2005

Closing Bases in Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Georgia!

by Liberty and Power

Sheldon Richman's article explores the issue of base closings in the U.S., including five in the state of Georgia, and my friend Tom G. Palmer reports the good news that Russia has announced that it will (someday) pull its troops out of the Republic of Georgia.

Unfortunately, the question of whether to close our bases in Uzbekistan is not even on the table. Troops from these same bases have been used in recent years to train the forces of an old style Soviet dictator who merrily continues in his dirty deeds . Our tax dollars at work.

UPDATE:

Skip Oliva calls my attention to Uzbekistan's dismally low ranking in the annual Index of Economic Freedom by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal :

"Tajikistan, Venezuela, and Uzbekistan—were classified as “repressed”, placing 144, 146, and 147, respectively in the rankings. The Index gave the three countries low grades in protecting property rights and eliminating regulation. In Uzbekistan, for example, the Index said the country’s government routinely seized private property without offering compensation and that, generally, “[t]he government is hostile to allowing the development of an independent private sector, over which it would have no control.”