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| Afghanistan |
| Star & Stripes: Kyrgyz riots close key US Airbase for Afghanistan Ops |
| 2010-04-08 |
| The U.S. air base in Kyrgyzstan was temporarily closed on Wednesday amid anti-government protests that may have forced the country's president to flee. A U.S. official confirmed a media report that the airport at Manas, including the U.S. air base, was closed at 8 p.m. local time and would reopen 12 hours later. Located about 19 miles northwest of the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, the base is a major transportation hub for U.S. troops and supplies going to Afghanistan. The closure will delay some troops headed to Afghanistan, but the U.S. military is looking into other ways to get them there, a Defense Department official said. Meanwhile, steps have been taken to ensure the safety of the personnel stationed at Manas, according to the Air Force. "Due to operational security reasons we will not discuss specific details about protection of our personnel and assets," said Maj. Rickardo Bodden, a spokesman for the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing. |
| Posted by:Beldar Threreling9726 |
| #12 Dueling statements: Omurbek Tekebayev, a former Kyrgyz opposition leader who took charge of constitutional matters in the new government, said that "Russia played its role in ousting Bakiyev." "You've seen the level of Russia's joy when they saw Bakiyev gone," he told Reuters. "So now there is a high probability that the duration of the U.S. air base's presence in Kyrgyzstan will be shortened." and Roza Otunbayeva, a former foreign minister now heading the interim government, said there were no plans yet to review the lease agreement for the Manas air base, which runs out in July. She said her government would meet U.S. diplomats for talks in Bishkek. "Give us time, it will take time for us to understand and fix the situation," Otunbayeva said. At this time I will place more weight on the statement from the new leader, Roza Otunbayeva. Manas pumps about $250M/year into the the economy. That's 5% of the nation's GDP. It will be even more this year. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-04-08 20:47 |
| #11 Soft power and smart diplomacy at work. I have no doubt Admiral Mullen will be explaining on the Today show how this is not a problem because the purpose of the Air Force is not to resupply. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-04-08 20:30 |
| #10 The new government claims Russian help and announced it intends to close the airbase for afghan ops . |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-04-08 20:10 |
| #9 Coming in the near future, to a city near you. Just a prediction. |
| Posted by: Secret Asian Man 2010-04-08 13:39 |
| #8 Kyrgyzstan is a kleptocracy. Not AQ but Russian pushed (by cutting off funds), though there's no evidence that any successor government will be any more Russophile than the Bakiyev mob. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-04-08 13:17 |
| #7 Any way those anti-government protests were Al Qaeda driven? The protesters sure had lots of guns and military tactics for a mob in a strict dictatorship. |
| Posted by: Mike Hunt 2010-04-08 12:45 |
| #6 Opposition followers killed Kyrgyzstan's interior minister, took the deputy prime minister hostage and captured state television in a deadly revolt against President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-04-08 12:23 |
| #5 Photos |
| Posted by: newc 2010-04-08 11:35 |
| #4 I'd like to see Pelosi and members of the CBC walk through the middle of THAT crowd into the national palace. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-04-08 06:09 |
| #3 The U.S. air base in Kyrgyzstan was temporarily closed It's in Kyrgyzstan, gromky. The base supplies Afghanistan. Perhaps another cup of coffee? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-04-08 06:05 |
| #2 That site is in Russian, this is in Afghanistan. |
| Posted by: gromky 2010-04-08 05:37 |
| #1 Civil unrest was pretty heavy duty! Video of Riot Police Attacked and Routed by Rioters. Click on the video at the link. Warning. Graphic. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2010-04-08 01:45 |