The closure is a serious complication for the new U.S. administration which plans to deploy additional troops to Afghanistan to counter resurgent violence. The bill was approved by 78 of the 81 legislators present, with two voting against it and one abstaining. The law must now be signed by Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. It will then be forwarded to the United States, after which the U.S. military is given six months to withdraw from the base. The base, in Manas, provides transit facilities for thousands of personnel and 500 tons of cargo each month, and is used by the tanker aircraft that refuel fighter planes on combat missions over Afghanistan. /106
source : The New York Times
Monday
15 June 2009
7:30:00 PM
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The Kyrgyz Parliament voted Thursday to close the U.S. military’s air base outside the capital. The air base was a key logistical hub for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.