Americans in a strange land

摘要

Six months ago, Manas airport, near Bishkek, the capital of Kirgizstan, was as sleepy and dilapidated as the country itself. Now it buzzes with activity as soldiers, pilots and engineers from the United States and seven other countries erect tents, tinker with aircraft engines and equip bombers with their lethal payloads. Whether the Kirgiz realise it or not, a piece of military history is being made by the multi-national force of 1,900 (and rising) which has encamped at Manas airport and renamed their bit of it after Peter Ganci, the New York fire chief who died in last September's terrorist attack. The tent city at Manas is engaged in a combat operation at present directed against the caves of Afghanistan, nearly 1,000km (620 miles) away. A dozen bombers, six American and six French, support the war against remnants of the Taliban regime and the al-Qaeda network. There are tanker aircraft supplied by Australia and France, and transporters from Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. South Korea has sent a medical team. Despite the tents, the base has a far from makeshift look. It is under American commanders who seem to be quickly mastering the tricky art of integrating forces from a number of nations. Their boss, Donald Rumsfeld, the American defence secretary, flew in to give the troops a pep talk (picture above). The place where he spoke was given a homely touch with an enormous Stars and Stripes.