Bruce Pannier writes about current tensions over Manas Air Force Base near Bishkek for RFE/RL.
With the Kharsi-Khanabad AFB closed in Uzbekistan, Manas is more important than before. One thing I did not realize right away: the USAF shares this airport with Kyrgyzstan's private use, which has to add to the tension there. In September 2006, there was a runway collision between a private plane with 52 passengers and a US fuel plane, which resulted in a fire and no casualties.
According to a friend of mine who travels in and out of Manas, American servicemen and women were allowed to mingle in Bishkek fairly freely until the four-day kidnapping of a US Major on September 5 of last year. After that still-unresolved incident, Manas base security dictated that the social exchange between US military and the Kyrgyzstani locals become far more circumscribed.
Photo: Air Force Link
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