Manas Air Base closure signed into Kyrgyz law

[unhappycamper]

Manas Air Base closure signed into Kyrgyz law
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, February 21, 2009

Kyrgyzstan’s president has signed a bill closing a key U.S. support base for the war in Afghanistan, apparently making the decision to close Manas Air Base final.

Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed the bill Friday, government officials said. The signing of the bill, which the Kyrgyz parliament passed Thursday in a near-unanimous vote, was the final step needed before an eviction notice for the base would be sent to the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek.

Once that notice is served, the United States will have 180 days to vacate the base.

Traveling in Poland, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he was hopeful the decision could be reversed.

"I continue to believe this is not a closed issue, and that there remains the potential to reopen this issue," Gates told reporters, according to The Associated Press. "But we are developing alternative methods of getting resupply and people into Afghanistan."


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60857%2e