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US Cuts Deal on Central Asia Military Base

Troops must leave, but base will help Afghanistan mission

By the Associated Press

Posted Jun 23, 2009 6:05 AM CDT

(AP) – The US has agreed to more than triple the rent it pays for use of a key air base in Kyrgyzstan to ship non-lethal military supplies to Afghanistan under a deal approved today, reports the AP. The accord over the Manas Air Base comes four months after the Central Asian nation evicted US troops. Under the new one-year deal, rent will increase to $60 million per year from the current $17.4 million.

Today's deal falls short of maintaining the base as a full-fledged military facility, but it will provide logistical support for the US-led coalition in Afghanistan. The breakthrough appeared to stem in part from a personal message sent by President Obama recently: he thanked the Kyrgyz president for his support of the Afghanistan mission, and Hamid Karzai also lobbied for coalition forces to continue using Manas.

US soldiers patrol the air base during a joint military exercise with France at the Manas Air Base, located near the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek.
US soldiers patrol the air base during a joint military exercise with France at the Manas Air Base, located near the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek.   (Misha Japaridze)
Kyrgyzstan has ordered the United States to leave the facility by August 18, dashing plans to use it as thousands more troops prepare to pour into Afghanistan.
Kyrgyzstan has ordered the United States to leave the facility by August 18, dashing plans to use it as thousands more troops prepare to pour into Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Azamat Imanaliev)
A US soldier walks past local workers at a construction site at the Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan.
A US soldier walks past local workers at a construction site at the Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan.   (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
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Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

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