The Uzbek government has given the American military six months to leave Uzbekistan. Infrastructure supporting the base has cost the state upwards of $160 million US, which the US has not contributed to.

The American government was going to contribute about $20 million, but withheld it because the way Uzbek government handled May protests. Troops fired on a crowd of peaceful protesters and the government has not launched an inquiry into the incident which killed 750 people. Russia and China have also called for an inquiry, hopefully China and Russia will have success where the American’s didn’t.

Removal of the air base in Uzbekistan will help ease political tension in the area since China and Russia are both rightly concerned of the American military presence. The demilitarization of the world is always good.