Last week, I wrote about the U.S. ambassador to Kyrgyzstan's clumsy defensiveness regarding charges that she ignored the former opposition for the sake of maintaining the U.S. air base there. Apparently she had a reason to feel defensive: Steve LeVine reports that the ambassador is on her way out:
In Washington, I am told that prior to these latest events there already had been a senior-level Administration decision to pull Ambassador Tatiana Gfoeller several months prior to the end of her scheduled rotation out in Fall 2011. Gfoeller will return to Washington after a few months, I am told, after an interval from the April 7 ouster of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
The apparent decision comes against the backdrop of bitter complaints by members of Kyrgyzstan's provisional government -- most prominently those of leader Roza Otunbayeva -- that Gfoeller met with them only infrequently while they were in the opposition to Bakiyev. ... In fact, Gfoeller appears to have raised not only Otunbayeva's bile, but also that of Bakiyev, who railed against the Embassy meeting with the opposition at all.
So, maybe someone was learning some lessons...
Joshua Kucera, a senior correspondent, is Eurasianet's former Turkey/Caucasus editor and has written for the site since 2007.
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