| CONTINUE WATCHING: bit.ly TRANSCRIPT AND SOURCES: www.corbettreport.com The Manas Air Base, situated near the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, has played a key role in the increasingly important Central Asian region since its inception. First opened in December 2001 to support the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the Manas Air Base plays host to the US Ninth Air Force and serves primarily as a transit point for US goods and personnel coming and going from Afghanistan. As part of the so-called Northern Distribution Network, a key supply route for NATO troops in Afghanistan that bypasses the now-blockaded Pakistani borders, Manas continues to be a strategically vital asset for the US. At the same time, the base has also been a point of contention with the locals for years, and the controversy doesn't seem likely to die down any time soon. Find out more about Manas and the nexus of drugs, revolution and terrorism in Kyrgyzstan in this week's Eyeopener report. |
