Work goes on at Manas despite closure threat

[unhappycamper]

A U.S. military plane is seen Feb. 12 at Manas Air Force Base in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev last week announced the closure of the base, which is a crucial staging post for coalition operations in Afghanistan. The U.S. began using the Manas base in December 2001.


Work goes on at Manas despite closure threat
By Peter Leonard - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Feb 12, 2009 17:32:21 EST

MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan — Aircraft took off throughout the day and workers built a new fire station at this vital military base Thursday despite Kyrgyzstan’s plans to shut down a facility seen as essential to the war in Afghanistan.

The Manas air base works around the clock as the main air transportation hub for coalition efforts in Afghanistan, acting as a transit point for hundreds of troops and 500 tons of cargo moving in and out of the region each month. It is also a key link for medical evacuations from Afghanistan, which has seen rising violence and allied casualties.

Within a few minutes Thursday morning, a KC-135 Stratotanker departed for Afghanistan, while a huge C-17 Globemaster cargo aircraft landed.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev shocked Washington last week by announcing the closure of the Manas air base. Losing access to the facility poses a serious challenge to President Barack Obama’s plan to send up to 30,000 more U.S. forces to fight surging Taliban and al-Qaida violence in Afghanistan.

About 75 percent of U.S. supplies to Afghanistan travel through Pakistan but increasing militant attacks on depots and truck convoys there have raised doubts about the security of supply routes.


Rest of article at: http://airforcetimes.com/news/2009/02/ap_manas_workcontinues_021209/%2e