China in Kyrgyzstan
A confidential State Department cable made public last week highlights China’s role in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
The U.S. ambassador in far-off Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, confronted China’s ambassador about a covert attempt by Beijing to bribe the government there to shut down the strategic U.S. military transit base at Manas in exchange for $3 billion in cash.
The Feb. 13, 2009, cable signed by Ambassador Tatiana C. Gfoeller revealed that Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Zhang Yannian “did not deny categorically” the covert cash offer to close the base, which is a