UK Defence Secretary Philip Hammond’s visit to Tashkent on 28 February was not covered in any UK mainstream media that I can find, which is peculiar, given the media’s obsession with covering anything to do with “Our heroes” in Afghanistan. It was not really the kind of visit the state would want to publciise, with Hammond in the rather unheroic position of having his knees firmly placed on the acres of marble floor of Tashkent’s presidentiail palace, with his tongue well and truly stuck up Karimov’s arse.
NATO, including the UK, needs to transit Uzbekistan to get its 14,000 vehicles out of Afghanistan, having well and truly queered the pitch of an exit through Pakistan by a decade of bombing the locals. The Karimov family had already made hundreds of millions in profit through a monopoly of providing haulage and logistical services to supplies going in to Afghanistan. With NATO’s demoralised forces sitting on an incredibly large stockpile of materiel in effect stuck in the country as the utterly fruitless occupation ends, the Karimovs are in a position to ramp up extortion.
That will not only involve huge cash payments going to the Karimov family from the British taxpayer, disguised as transit fees, railway charges, fuel provision etc. It will also include a raft of political demands. Karimov had already in 2011 secured the ending of EU sanctions, and the international respectability he craves for his regime through an official visit to Brussels and call on EU President Barroso.
Now as a condition of facilitating our retreat, Karimov is insisting on a full visit to Tashkent by David Cameron in 2013 or 2014, a state visit by Karimov to the UK in 2015 and acceptance of Gulnara Karimova as Uzbek Ambassador in London. He is also keen to acquire a variety of state of the art UK weapons and surveillance systems for use against his own people. The strong steer from No 10 is that these Karimov demands will have to be accepted.
There is an excellent video here of Scott Horton being interviewed by Galima Burkabaeva on the subject of the kelptocratic Karimov state. Galima was an eyewitness to the Andijan massacre of 2005, in which Karimov’s military murdered some 800 pro-democracy demonstrators. Galima herself only just got away, a bullet passing clean through her reporter’s notebook.
Nice friends Mr Hammond has.
(Am currently in Delhi).
Mary,
Is there something wrong with him?
Alas he suffers from a sever case of craptitis, a disease which has no known cure. I can take the credit for heckling him, during one of his soliloquies that sounded more bollocks than a pair adorning the nether regions of a goat.
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He has been picked up precisely because he is such a whiny ass twit, this way no one will notice what he whined on about until it is too late.
@ Passerby –
Well, at least he isn’t an antisemite now. First off the block was Israel, shrieking “antisemite”, but turns out he was (allegedly) avenging the deaths of Palestinian children at IDF hands. Relative silence ensues…
One thought, though: how long do we reckon Karimov will live to enjoy his $$$, once the US/CIA no longer needs him? Is he the kind to retire in exile, Craig, or does he too much enjoy the hands-on side of tyranny and the adulation he commands?
.58pm: Smallprint Alert: Under the headline “simplification” in the Red Book, there are figures showing how much the chancellor will raise from freezing age-related allowances. Osborne said in his speech that he wanted to make taxation for pensioners simpler. But it’s also a substantial money-raiser – and by 2014-15 it will raise more than any other measure in the budget. In 2014-15 it will raise £670m and by 2016-17 it will raise £1.250bn
(Guardian budget blog)
And he’s cut the 50 p rate.
Floreat Etona.
“NATO, including the UK, needs to transit Uzbekistan to get its 14,000 vehicles out of Afghanistan”
I am not sure I fully understand the logic. Yes, of course you can export the 14,000 to Uzbekistan but then what? You have 14,000 vehicles land-locked in a country surrounded by such beacons of freedom as Turmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The only way out would be to fly them. Why not fly them direct from Afghanistan (assuming its technically feasible) in the first place?
An exit route though Pakistan would have the much simpler option of loading onto ships at a port city like Karachi.
If I read Pakistan correctly, it would also stand a pretty good chance of bringing down the Pakistan government. Which is not the result the US is looking for.
Coyne Airways will be coining it too according to this.
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http://www.aircargoworld.com/Air-Cargo-News/air-cargo-world-magazine/world-news/europe
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Coyne have multinational teams in London and Dubai.
{http://www.coyneair.com/about-us/what-we-do/}
According to this (February) the 50% rate payers were expected to contribute £41.4 billion in tax. Cutting the rate to 45% therefore loses the Treasury over £4Bn…not quite the outcome Osprawn is claiming. And does he think the few people who went offshore as a result of the 50% are going to trickle back at 45%?
There is some very devious rationalisation going on here, and it looks as if a nought or two got lost on the way.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/tax/8321369/Top-1-of-workers-pay-quarter-of-all-income-tax.html
Geomannie,
There is an invention known as train, runs on sort of metal tracks, and is thought to be sort of capable of transporting and taking heavy machines and sorts to different places likes of ports and seaside towns!!!!
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Air power is only good enough to rain bombs and shit on civilians, or force the civilians to be fondled in the airports, taking the heavy shit that has been pounding the Afghanistan and bouncing rubble can only be done through the old fashioned trains, and sea going cargo vessels.
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Komodo,
There is always an upside to everything! Did you read the DM farticle about Ashton remarks? The comments were a hoot, GIYUS merchants were besides themselves, you could almost feel the whizzing hats and forelock flying all over the shop, oh the indignity of it all!!!!!
kingfelix,
Lightening always strikes the other guy! Karimov is busy enjoying the soup that he is drinking with his new found best friends, confident that he has a long enough spoon to remain out of their reach!
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Saddam, Mubarak, Qaddafi, ……. etc. were all wrong, because they never made provisions for a long enough spoon apparently.
Passerby,
She should resign immediately. Yahud Barak says so. We can’t have any antisemitic truthtelling going on among our
hired enforcersbeloved allies.“The Israeli government demanded that Lady Ashton step down, with defence minister Ehud Barak denouncing the mention of Gaza as inappropriate and demanding a retraction.”
Personally, I think any mention of G-za is inappropriate. It is antisemitic to mention it at all. Or even think about it. Giza, Gozo, and Togo are pretty suspect as well.
Note: the good rabbi was shipped out to Israel pronto for burial. Another patriot lost to France…
@ Kingfelix
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The problem, or rather the issue, is that Karimov and his successor might, and most likely will be needed to US/UK long after they left Afghanistan.
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If you look at the map carefully you realise that Uzbekistan is ideally placed in the centre of Central Asia, region that borders China, Russia and Iran altogether. Ideal place to be (or have influence in) if you are planning to contain raising influence of China, or re-assertiveness of Russia, or keeping Iran on target and not to mention richness of the region with oil and gas.
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And unlike Afghanistan Uzbekistan or any other Central Asian states, despite being run by tyrannical regimes, do not yet qualify for failed states status. Thus, it seems that US/UK military, diplomatic or intelligence boots will certainly feel more comfortable in Central Asia than in Afghanistan.
@ geomannie
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Passerby gave you good enough answer regarding how heavy machinery can and most likely will be moved further away from Uzbekistan.
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Just to add here that you are right assuming that Pakistan would have been much easier option, but slight issue here is that Northern part of it have pretty much more in common with Afghanistan then with Islamabad, and it seems more likely that most of machinery will be burned or captured before it even riches Karachi. To prevent this US/UK will need to ensure that it is capable of protecting their machinery and this is more likely to be achieved by bringing war from Afghanistan to Pakistan. It is unlikely that US/UK will want to move Pakistan’s status from pre-failed state to full failed state, especially considering Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
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Thus, the only way remains is via North that is run by tyrannical and yet secular regimes that for some amount of $$$ will provide safe heaven without risks of getting into civil war trouble.
Another place the Yanks are leaving. Hurriedly:
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http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/03/20/Leave-Gaza-Strip-US-tells-citizens/UPI-26851332263463/
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Whatever can the IDF be planning?
Thanks Passerby for the reminder of trains. Can I remind him/her of geography? To export heavy weaponry and vehicles by train from Uzbekistan would mean passing through Russia. Somehow I think that the Russians might not like NATO saying “don’t mind us, were just passing though”. Just a hunch.
Russia’s not a problem if the price is right…
http://feraljundi.com/1896/logistics-us-and-nato-making-deals-with-russia-a-new-rail-line-and-getting-closer-to-dropping-pakistan-routes/
Geomannie
Just a hunch.
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Once the stuff is on board trains, then it is calcified as cargo! This then falls under the international trade agreements right up to the docks and on board the ships.
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The routes and ports have already been designated/planned and are in preparations for the arrival of the “cargo”.
Russia was never a problem really.
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Putin might play his anti-NATO card well for public, but in fact he, pretty much as everyone in former USSR, is quite bendable to cash.
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Before licking Karimov’s arse, I am sure White House “convinced” Putin of necessity of using Northern retreat from Afghanistan.
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If this was not enough, then I am sure that China, which is pretty much concerned with US presence in what is now becoming China’s backyard and with future stability of its ally – Pakistan, helped US to convince Mr Putin of necessity of Northern retreat.
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All in all, Russia has agreed to Northern retreat much earlier than Hillary went to Tashkent.
Licking, more and more
http://en.ca-news.org/news/457591
@ Gwent
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Nice link.
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Ironically, National Centre for Human Rights in Uzbekistan is headed by Akmal Saidov, one of the nastiest advocates of Karimov’s regime. But I am sure that Baroness Vivien Stern was not aware of this and sincerely believed that Prof. Saidov is person who was worthy of her attention (I am of course being sarcastic).
No connection to the Stern Gang one assumes!
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She is currently a member of the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights…..
http://www.johnsmithmemorialtrust.org/web/site/home/BaronessStern.asp
Notice how disappointed the ‘brews are at the Toulouse shootings? Ready to enjoy being all weepy-crawly and ooze self-pity at Holocaust 2.0, they find three goyim got shot too! Two ay-rabs and…and a schwarzer…how very dare they! What a party-pooper. Shooting Kushites with the same gun as used on the Chosen Race, that’s real anti-semitism. Quite spoils the snivel.
Craig,
“UK Defence Secretary Philip Hammond’s visit to Tashkent on 28 February was not covered in any UK mainstream media that I can find, which is peculiar, given the media’s obsession with covering anything to do with “Our heroes” in Afghanistan.”
Clearly the “lamestream media” has a built in bias. It selectively reports and supports, to a great extent, the “conventional wisdom” on many issues, and seeks to side-line or deflect many insightful and challenging ideas which do not comport with the official narrative. The instance which you have cited is just one example amongst many. Well – why would they want to report the dirt going on in the “national interest” of making lucrative arms deals with a torturous regime? Why – such kind of irresponsible reporting could do great damage, and worse yet – might even give some credence to the pariah – one Craig Murray.
Words such as “miscalculation”, “error”, and “misjudgment” are oftentimes used to describe the decision to bomb and invade Afghanistan.
We in the West are truly hypocritical. The US needs a fig-leaf to cover the true intentions of spilling blood to run a pipeline across Afghanistan, while simultaneously trying militarily to procure geo-political advantage. But – wonderful and appealing words and phrases such as “freedom” and “democracy” and “human rights” are all so decent and civilized, while the slaughter that is the reality of the war in Afghanistan, might otherwise incite any person of conscience simply to shout – JUST GET THE FUCK OUT – LET YOUNG SOLDIERS LIVE TO SEE THEIR GRANDCHILDREN – AND JUST STOP BOMBING AND SLAUGHTERING THE AFGHANS!
PEACE!
@ geomannie
“NATO, including the UK, needs to transit Uzbekistan to get its 14,000 vehicles out of Afghanistan”
“I am not sure I fully understand the logic. Yes, of course you can export the 14,000 to Uzbekistan but then what? You have 14,000 vehicles land-locked in a country surrounded by such beacons of freedom as Turmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.”
Yes – I read Craig’s post and the same thoughts flashed through my mind. I then googled the map of surrounding countries to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to make sure that my recollection and thought processes were not wrong. Thus, again, I agree geomannie – I simply don’t get the logic on this one. I confess – I am a lawyer and not a person with military training – so anyone out there who has the explanation ( Craig included) – do explain – please.
14 Dec 2011 Questions to Hammond
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http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:fY30oPsw-GEJ:services.parliament.uk/hansard/Commons/bydate/20111214/writtenanswers/part017.html+British+Defense+Ministry+Uzbekistan&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
http://3dblogger.typepad.com/different_stans/2012/02/what-is-the-british-defense-minister-doing-in-uzbekistan-and-kazakhstan.html 27 February 2012
It is amazing that although the information was on the FCO and MOD website, only a blog like the one above took it up. So much for the corporate media. I refuse to call it mainstream.
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http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/DefencePolicyAndBusiness/DefenceMinistersVisitCentralAsianCountries.htm
@ geomannie and Courteney,
it’s simply expensive and time consuming. Besides, Passerby has given a good reasoning on why they have decided to withdraw through land.
Uzbek in riposte to me on previous thread re Quran booze, you ignore the numerous promises to the faithful of getting sloshed in heaven, with wine and houris. Also – “SURA XVI.-THE BEE [LXXIII.]
And among fruits ye have the palm and the vine, from which ye get wine and healthful nutriment.” There is no mention of ‘intoxicants’ in the Quran, or of ‘alcohol’ – as yet unidentified – only of ‘wine’. Hence, pedants can drink all the beer and vodka they want, which, in my experience in ultra-pious Eastern Turkey, they do. If the teaching on booze actually changes through the Quran, I’d be really vexed with a sky pixie who can’t make up his mind.
Happily, since ‘allah’ exists only in the right hemisphere of the brain, and the Koran is the raving of a certifiable lunatic, sensible people need pay no attention.