Report: US presence in Central Asia, military and oil implications to Arab states

"The U.S. Air Force is building a base that within months will be home to 3,000 personnel and nearly two dozen American and allied aircraft" The Washington Post reports today about this base being built in the country Kyrgyzstan in central Asia.

The Washington Post said the base "embodies what senior U.S. defense officials say is a major commitment to maintain not just air operations over Afghanistan for the foreseeable future but also a robust military presence in the region well after the war.

The Washington Post said this military expansion in the central Asian region has an added urgency to the USA due to Saudi Arabia's unease about U.S. military presence on its soil adding "It is a sentiment that could force the United States to withdraw from the bases it first occupied in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War 11 years ago, leaving a potentially huge void in the military's ability to operate in the region."

The US administration "is now giving the armed forces the ability to conduct anti-terrorist operations on a near-permanent basis across much of the Muslim world. It also is establishing a broader political and security relationship with the republics of Central Asia, a strategic region rich in oil and gas reserves," The Washington Post said today.