(NSI News Source Info) BISHKEK - February 19, 2009: Kyrgyzstan's parliament will vote on Thursday on a presidential proposal to close a U.S. air base used as a staging post for U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday.
A lineup of U.S. air force KC-135 tanker planes seen at the Manas air base in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009. Kyrgyzstan's parliament said Tuesday it will vote this week on a bill to close a U.S. air base that provides key support to military operations in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama's call for an increased military focus on Afghanistan could be hampered both by the potential closure of the Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan and increased attacks on the main land route for supplies through Pakistan.
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said earlier in February he had decided to close the Manas air base because Washington had refused to pay more rent for it. The parliament in the former Soviet republic is dominated by Bakiyev's party.
A lineup of U.S. air force KC-135 tanker planes seen at the Manas air base in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009. Kyrgyzstan's parliament said Tuesday it will vote this week on a bill to close a U.S. air base that provides key support to military operations in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama's call for an increased military focus on Afghanistan could be hampered both by the potential closure of the Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan and increased attacks on the main land route for supplies through Pakistan.
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said earlier in February he had decided to close the Manas air base because Washington had refused to pay more rent for it. The parliament in the former Soviet republic is dominated by Bakiyev's party.
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