Hell has no fury like a dictator scorned. The thought must have occurred to the White House late last month when Islam Karimov, the corrupt and autocratic ruler of Uzbekistan, abruptly announced he was closing the US air base in his country.

It cannot have come as a complete surprise. For several weeks the state-controlled media in Tashkent had whipped up anti-American stories. Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, rushed to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to make sure they would not follow suit and close the bases on their territory for the US military campaign in Afghanistan. He was reassured.