US Kicked Out of Kyrgyzstan Air Base

[unhappycamper]

US Kicked Out of Kyrgyzstan Air Base
February 03, 2009
Associated Press

MOSCOW - Kyrgyzstan's president said Tuesday that his country is ending U.S. use of an air base that has been key to military operations in Afghanistan, Russian news agencies reported.

The decision to end the U.S. use of Manas, just outside the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, could have potentially far-reaching consequences for U.S. and NATO operations in Afghanistan.

Interfax and RIA-Novosti quoted Kurmanbek Bakiyev, on a visit to Moscow, as making the statement just minutes after Russia announced it was providing the poor Central Asian nation with billions of dollars in aid. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, said during a trip to Central Asia last month that Manas air base would be key to plans to boost U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan by up to 30,000 soldiers in the coming months.

The Kyrgyz government "has made the decision on ending the term for the American base on the territory of Kyrgyzstan and in the near future, this decision will be announced," Bakiyev was quoted by ITAR-Tass as saying.

Kyrgyz government officials could not be immediately reached for comment.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/February-2009/us-kicked-out-of-kyrgyzstan-air-base.html?col=1186032310810