The AP is reporting that “The United States is allocating $100 million in aid for Uzbekistan for its support of the U.S.-led military operation in neighboring Afghanistan, a U.S. congressman said Saturday.

The aid to the Central Asian nation so far has been targeted at military training and ensuring security, but will eventually expand to other sectors, U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., told reporters in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.”

Kolbe met with Uzbek President Islam Karimov on Saturday and praised him for being so quick to offer use of an air base for the military campaign in Afghanistan, saying it set an example for other countries. More than 1,000 U.S. troops have been deployed to Uzbekistan since October.

In return, Karimov’s government has hoped for aid and an end to criticism of its human rights record.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to land our planes in “friendly” countries without having to pay this kind of entry and docking tax? And tell me, by what moral gymnastics does offering an air base — at the cost of $100 million, mind you — suddenly expunge record of human rights violations?

Well, what’s $100 mil between buddies, eh? I mean, at least we’ll always be able to count on the Uzbek government from here on out, whenever we need them, no matter what happens in Central Asia. Right?

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