Kyrgyzstan shuts the doors on the U.S. airbase
Kyrgyzstan says its decision to close a U.S. airbase on its soil is final, shutting down a key transit route for troops and equipment bound for Afghanistan. The decision will prove especially costly as NATO’s supply lines into Afghanistan through Pakistan have been attacked are becoming increasingly unstable. Russia, which opposes an American military presence in Central Asia, recently announced $2 billion in aid for Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan says the Russian aid money and its decision to close the American base are unrelated.