Kyrgyzstan orders crucial US airbase shut down

On the same day when the Pentagon announced that it needed 30,000 more soldiers to combat terrorist insurgents in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan's president announced the sudden closure of Manas Air Base, crucial for supplying troops in nearby Afghanistan.

The US base is the main hub for moving men, equipment and supplies to US and allied forces operating in nearby Afghanistan because of its 90-minute flying time to the war, instead of seven hours from other launching areas. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev -- who announced the decision shortly after his talks with the Russian government -- said there were two reasons for the closure: : economic considerations and the negative public attitude. The USA has outstayed its welcome in the mostly muslim country - they had planned to stay for up to two years to help supply the troops in Afghanistan -- but now the conflict has dragged on for eight years. And they weren't happy with the financial compensation, he added. "When there were hostilities in progress in Afghanistan with the use of combat aircraft, Kyrgyzstan made its territory available for fighting international terrorism. But at that time, it was one or two years that were being talked about. Eight years have passed. We have repeatedly raised with the United States the matter of economic compensation for the existence of the base in Kyrgyzstan, but we have not been understood,” he said. This is bad news for the US military in Afghanistan: just today, the US military announced that 30,000 more troops are needed in Afghanistan to confront insurgent violence and to establish “a baseline of security” there. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said at a press brief that the 'escalating levels of violence committed by resurgent Taliban fighters and al-Qaida terrorists operating in southern and eastern Afghanistan and along the border with Pakistan has caused “a deteriorating security situation.' President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates have acknowledged the need to shift the U.S. military’s focus from a less-violent Iraq to more-volatile Afghanistan, Morrell said. “And the No. 1 focus of that goal is ensuring that Afghanistan does not once again become a safe haven for terrorists, a place from which they can plot and launch attacks against us or our allies,” Morrell said. The US military’s task in Afghanistan “fundamentally is a counterinsurgency mission,” Morrell said. “That likely will continue to be the case, albeit with more troops.” Commanders in Afghanistan have asked for 30,000 additional troops, which effectively would double the U.S. troop contingent there. More US forces are needed in Afghanistan so that it does not revert to being a terrorist haven, said Morrell, who emphasized that Obama would have to approve any additional troop deployments to Afghanistan. However, the US strategy for Afghanistan also will include political and economic components, Morrell said, noting Obama addressed those issues when he met with senior civilian and military leaders at the Pentagon last week. “This will be a multifaceted approach to dealing with the problems we face in Afghanistan,” Morrell said, adding that “everybody acknowledges this cannot be done with troops alone.” But, “troops are essential, at least in the near term, to try to reverse the slide in some parts of the country in security,” Morrell said. “And I think everybody recognizes that.” Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said in response to the announcement by the Kyrgyzstan president however that 'Russia and Kyrgyzstan will continue cooperating with the United States on Afghanistan after the closure of the US airbase.' "We could join our efforts to promote stability in the region, our countries will help the operations underway in the region. We are ready for coordinated action," said Medvedev -- adding that the decision to close the Manas base was up to Kyrgyzstan alone. Manas airport in Bishkek has been home to a thousand-strong American airbase since 2001, the year Kyrgyzstan joined the anti-terror coalition set up after 9/11. The United States found the Manas base to be useful for Afghan operations. It was named after Chief Peter Ganci Jr. of the New York City Fire Department, who died in the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center carried out by al-Qaeda. The annual rent paid to the Kyrgyz government was $150 million. There have been growing security problems around the presence of the base: In September 2003 three Kyrgyz citizens were convicted for an attempt to organise an attack on the base. On July 8, 2004 the attempt was repeated by militants believed to belong to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. 2005's Tulip Revolution followed, and President Askar Akayev's exile from the country made US Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld visit Bishkek to support the continued US presence at Manas. But the new Bakiyev administration demanded an increase in the rent for the Pentagon's use of Manas. Due to the December 4, 2001 agreement the price was a little over $2 million a year, and the new amount was increased to $100-200 million annually. The sum was clearly drawn out of a hat and after prolonged 12-month negotiations the price was agreed at $17.5 million per year. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed a joint statement October 11 in Bishkek expressing support for the presence of coalition forces in the Kyrgyz Republic "until the mission of fighting terrorism in Afghanistan is completed." see