In this March 1, 2005 file photo, a U.S. military personnel member is seen at the airfield as a transport plane taxies at the U.S. air base in Manas international airport 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan's government submitted a draft bill to parliament Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009 to revoke the country's hosting of a U.S. base that is an important component of the Afghanistan military campaign. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)How The U.S. Lost Its Kyrgyzstan Air Base -- International Herald Tribune
The recent decision by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan to close the U.S. military base in the small Central Asian country should come as no surprise to Washington's new foreign policy team. Since its establishment in the fall of 2001, the U.S. air base at Manas has been founded upon the granting of narrow economic incentives to the host country - and not on the Kyrgyz Republic's commitment to the broader international campaign in Afghanistan.
What began as a relationship based on economics is about to end for financial reasons. Though the loss of Manas will deal a short-term blow to U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, staying is not worth the new Kyrgyz asking price.
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Kyrgyz Parliament Group OKs Closure of US Base -- Voice Of America
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US delegation in Moscow for Afghanistan talks -- AP
U.S. diplomat holds Afghan supply talks in Moscow -- Reuters
Don't Count On Russia Over Kyrgyz Base, NATO Envoy Tells US -- Easy Bourse
Manas closure will not affect Afghan transit - Russia's NATO envoy -- RIA Novosti