Kyrgyzstan To Close US Airbase

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan Kjust announced his intention to close the Manas air base at a press conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

He is claiming that the US is not paying enough, and my guess is that the Russian aid also announced influenced him:

Russia, meanwhile, was ready to pay. The Kyrgyz president collected pledges of a $2-billion discounted loan and a $150-million grant. The Russian government also agreed to cancel Kyrgyzstan's $180-million debt and to build a hydroelectric power plant.

I think that Russia does not want Afghanistan to fall back into the Taliban's hands, but I also think that they see the bases in former Warsaw Pact and FSU nations as being a deliberate attempt to create a "ring of steel" in order to contain Russia.

I think that there are elements in the US military, and elements in the past administration (Cheney, Rice, etc.) who have been rather strong supporters of the "ring of steel" concept, so it's not like they are paranoid for nothing.

From a tactical perspective, the loss of Manas is crushing, as it will, leave Pakistan as the only supply route available.