Kyrgyz Parliament to U.S. base: Get out

Kyrgyzstan gives U.S. 6 Months to get lost. The Parliament of Kyrgyzstan voted Thursday to terminate the American military’s eight-year lease on an air base outside the capital, Bishkek, and President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is expected to send Washington an official notification requiring it to vacate the base within six months.

The closure of the base, a key logistical hub for American forces in Afghanistan, is a serious complication for President Obama’s plans to deploy as many as 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan over the next two years. 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.

The bill was approved by 78 of the 81 deputies present, with two voting against it and one abstaining.

The bill was approved by 78 of the 81 deputies present, with two voting against it and one abstaining.

The decision comes as Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates traveled to Krakow, Poland to meet with NATO allies, in part to press for additional European troops and support for Afghanistan. More

USSA Ready To Cough Up More $$$$$ to stay but not beyond a "reasonable" amount to use an air base in Kyrgyzstan, War Secretary Robert Gates says.