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Kyrgyzstan: Sorry, Barack, We're Giving You the Boot

Back in February, the government of Kyrgyzstan — with some encouragement from Russia — gave the U.S. military six months to quit Manas Air Base, a crucial link for supplying U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan. The clock is winding down, and it looks like the Kyrgyz have rebuffed a last-minute appeal from President Barack […]

080811-F-9476P-008Back in February, the government of Kyrgyzstan -- with some encouragement from Russia -- gave the U.S. military six months to quit Manas Air Base, a crucial link for supplying U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan. The clock is winding down, and it looks like the Kyrgyz have rebuffed a last-minute appeal from President Barack Obama.

According to Kyrgyzstan's Russian-language news agency 24, Kyrgyz government spokesman Kadyrbek Sarbayev said today the decision to close Manas would not be reversed. "The decision to abolish the agreement on Manas Air Base has been made, and there is no turning back," he said. This followed the disclosure by Kyrgyz officials that Obama had sent a letter to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev calling for closer ties.

So things are not looking so rosy for Manas. Dang it, they just got a Twitter account!

The Wall Street Journal's Alan Cullison has an excellent story that probes some of the machinations behind the Kyrgyz government's decision to close Manas. Critics of the government seem to wind up dead or disappeared -- and journalists probing Russia's backroom influence face violent reprisal.

Cullison also has the backstory on negotiations over Manas. Back in January, Bakiyev snubbed U.S. Central Command Chief Gen. David Petraeus when he visited Bishkek; not long after Petraeus left, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin jetted in to with a proposal for a $2.1 billion aid package to Kyrgyzstan.

The final chapter on the Manas is not yet written, however. The news agency 24 also reports that the U.S. administration is planning to send a high-level delegation to Kyrgyzstan soon.

[PHOTO: U.S. Air Force]

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