US airbase threatened in Kyrgyzstan, threatening closure for a strategic US airbase for the war in Afghanistan

US airbase threatened in Kyrgyzstan as Russian-backed parties poised to take 
power
Political parties backed by Russia and Kazakhstan are poised to take power in 
Kyrgyzstan, threatening closure for a strategic US airbase for the war in 
Afghanistan.
 
By Richard Orange in Bishkek 
Published: 2:45PM BST 11 Oct 2010
A U.S. C-5 Galaxy aircraft lands at Manas International Airport near Bishkek, 
KyrgyzstanPhoto: REUTERS
The staunchly nationalist Ata-Zhurt party had taken a clear lead by Monday 
afternoon in what international observers from the OSCE called a "vibrant" 
election which "reflected the will of the people of the Kyrgyz Republic".
Ata-Zhurt has made closing the Manas Transit Centre, a key US presence in the 
mountain republic of 5.5m people, a central part of its political programme. The 
previous government had vowed to keep it open.
 
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"The American base has become a source of conflict," Kamchibek Tashiev, the 
Ata-Zhurt Chairman, said in an interview last month. "The American base should 
not be on the territory of our country."
Kyrgyzstan is the only country in the world to host both a US and a Russian 
airbase. Moscow has long resented the US military presence. Since Uzbekistan 
evicted a US airbase five years ago, the nearest alternative is the US airbase 
in Bahrain. The far greater distance would significantly add to the cost of 
fuelling the war
The base, opened three months after the September 11 terrorist attacks, with its 
fleet of air refuelling tankers, is a crucial supply link for the Afghan war, 
with the nearest alternative in Bahrain.
The fate of the Manas base appeared last night to sit with Respublika, a newly 
formed political party led by Omurbek Babanov, a Kyrgyz business tycoon, who can 
either anoint the Ata-Zhurt, or the Social Democratic Party.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev last week met Kamchibek Tashiev, the 
leader of the Ata-Zhurt party.
Last month Vladimir Putin, Russia's Prime Minister, met Almazbek Atambayev, 
leader of the Social Democratic party, while Dmitri Medvedev, Russia's 
President, met Felix Kulov, whose Ar-Namys party is in third place.