.US options after Kyrgyz base closure
US officials are looking for alternative ways of transporting soldiers and goods to Afghanistan after a decision by the Kyrgyz government to close a US base on its soil.
The Manas airbase near the capital Bishkek serves as an important supply route for US and Nato operations in Afghanistan.
It was set up by the United States in 2001 to support Operation Enduring Freedom - the US-led fight against al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan.
Kyrgyzstan was chosen because it offered coalition forces unrestricted overflight rights for aircraft flying combat, humanitarian and search-and-rescue missions.
Since the US were ordered out of Karshi-Khanabad in Uzbekistan, following a dispute with the Uzbek government over human rights in 2005, Manas has been the only American airbase in Central Asia.
Transport hub
An average of 15,000 US soldiers go through it every month on their way in and out of Afghanistan.
Those bound for Afghanistan arrive in huge transport planes and, after a day or two on the base, get ferried to their posts in smaller aircraft, which are less easy targets for militants.
The base is also home to the large tanker aircraft that are used for in-air refuelling of fighter planes on combat missions over Afghanistan, and it acts as a funnel for anything the troops could need: from medical supplies, food and uniforms, to building materials.
Both the State Department and the Pentagon have acknowledged the importance of the Kyrgyz base.
The US has more than 30,000 troops in Afghanistan and President Barack Obama is expected to almost double that number as part of his plans to increase the war effort there.
But they are also at pains to stress US operations in Afghanistan will not be seriously disrupted at a crucial time.
"We never have a single point of failure," Major John Redfield, a spokesman for the US military, told the BBC.
"We are just going to find other means of supplying the folks in Afghanistan."
Alternative routes
So which route will the US choose for its soldiers and supplies to reach Afghanistan?
At present, about 75% of US military supplies - everything from fuel to heavy equipment - passes through Pakistan.
However, the route, which winds hundreds of miles from the port city of Karachi through the Khyber Pass to the Afghan-Pakistani border, is slow and dangerous.
It has also become a target for militants seeking to disrupt the Nato and US supply chain.
Six people were wounded on Friday when a suicide car bomber blew himself up at a Pakistani security post on the pass.
The attack came shortly after the main bridge linking Pakistan to Afghanistan had reopened, following a bomb explosion on Tuesday.
There are other options too.
See map of existing and possible supply routes
Tajikistan
The Tajik president has offered a transit route for commercial and humanitarian supplies.
"They should be destined not only for the military but it is also important they are used for the reconstruction of Afghanistan," President Emomali Rakhmon said.
The US ambassador to Tajikistan, Tracey Ann Jacobson, said the transit would take the land route to Afghanistan via a new bridge over the Panj river, which was part-funded by the Americans.
But there is still the question of how to get supplies to Tajikistan in large volumes in the first place.
Uzbekistan
The US could consider trying to resume its military co-operation with Uzbekistan. The airbase at Karshi-Khanabad allowed US troops ready access to the Afghan border, until 2005.
But it would be politically difficult for Washington to restore a relationship of this kind with one of the most authoritarian countries in the region, says Cory Welt of the Eurasian Strategy Project at Georgetown University.
US soldiers have still been able to pass through Uzbekistan on their way to Afghanistan - via a German airbase at Termez - but only if they are attached to Nato forces.
The Kazakh government has a warmer relationship with the US, but it has not offered Washington a lifeline out of its current predicament.
US aircraft carrying out military operations in Afghanistan are allowed to land at the military section of Almaty airport in emergencies, but not as a matter of routine.
Arab states
A spokesman for the US military, Major John Redfield, said another potential option would be an extension of the air supply routes from Kuwait and Qatar.
The Pentagon already has airbases in both countries, but Major Redfield told the BBC that flying supplies in from the Arab states would be three or four times more expensive than other options such using trucks, trains or ships from countries neighbouring Afghanistan.
The closure plan for Manas still needs to be approved by the Kyrgyz parliament. A vote on the issue has been scheduled for next week.
The pro-government party holds a majority of the seats in parliament and all that is needed is a simple majority.
So on the face of it, the vote could be a formality, says Georgetown University's Cory Welt.
"But there could also be a way for the government to change its mind on the closure without losing face, by asking its MPs to vote against its own plan," he says
"It all depends on the balance of power in the Kyrgyz government," Mr Welt says.
For some members, it could be partly a financial question. On the one hand there is the $17m the US is already annually to rent the base - and the $150m it gives each year in aid - on the other, there is the promise of the much larger sum of $2bn (£1.4bn) in aid that Russia is now holding out.
1. Manas airbase: the only US base in Central Asia, a vital transit point for Nato and US operations. Kyrgyz government wants it closed
2. Karshi-Khanabad airbase: US forces were ordered out in 2005. Uzbekistan may agree to allow it to be used for non-military transports
3. Bridge over Panj river: part-funded by the US, it was completed in 2007. May serve as another supply route into Afghanistan
4. Khyber Pass: most supplies to US and Nato troops come through Pakistan. Increasing number of attacks in the area mean the US army is looking for back-up routes
BBC
The Manas airbase near the capital Bishkek serves as an important supply route for US and Nato operations in Afghanistan.
It was set up by the United States in 2001 to support Operation Enduring Freedom - the US-led fight against al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan.
Kyrgyzstan was chosen because it offered coalition forces unrestricted overflight rights for aircraft flying combat, humanitarian and search-and-rescue missions.
Since the US were ordered out of Karshi-Khanabad in Uzbekistan, following a dispute with the Uzbek government over human rights in 2005, Manas has been the only American airbase in Central Asia.
Transport hub
An average of 15,000 US soldiers go through it every month on their way in and out of Afghanistan.
Those bound for Afghanistan arrive in huge transport planes and, after a day or two on the base, get ferried to their posts in smaller aircraft, which are less easy targets for militants.
The base is also home to the large tanker aircraft that are used for in-air refuelling of fighter planes on combat missions over Afghanistan, and it acts as a funnel for anything the troops could need: from medical supplies, food and uniforms, to building materials.
Both the State Department and the Pentagon have acknowledged the importance of the Kyrgyz base.
The US has more than 30,000 troops in Afghanistan and President Barack Obama is expected to almost double that number as part of his plans to increase the war effort there.
But they are also at pains to stress US operations in Afghanistan will not be seriously disrupted at a crucial time.
"We never have a single point of failure," Major John Redfield, a spokesman for the US military, told the BBC.
"We are just going to find other means of supplying the folks in Afghanistan."
Alternative routes
So which route will the US choose for its soldiers and supplies to reach Afghanistan?
At present, about 75% of US military supplies - everything from fuel to heavy equipment - passes through Pakistan.
However, the route, which winds hundreds of miles from the port city of Karachi through the Khyber Pass to the Afghan-Pakistani border, is slow and dangerous.
It has also become a target for militants seeking to disrupt the Nato and US supply chain.
Six people were wounded on Friday when a suicide car bomber blew himself up at a Pakistani security post on the pass.
The attack came shortly after the main bridge linking Pakistan to Afghanistan had reopened, following a bomb explosion on Tuesday.
There are other options too.
See map of existing and possible supply routes
Tajikistan
The Tajik president has offered a transit route for commercial and humanitarian supplies.
"They should be destined not only for the military but it is also important they are used for the reconstruction of Afghanistan," President Emomali Rakhmon said.
The US ambassador to Tajikistan, Tracey Ann Jacobson, said the transit would take the land route to Afghanistan via a new bridge over the Panj river, which was part-funded by the Americans.
But there is still the question of how to get supplies to Tajikistan in large volumes in the first place.
Uzbekistan
The US could consider trying to resume its military co-operation with Uzbekistan. The airbase at Karshi-Khanabad allowed US troops ready access to the Afghan border, until 2005.
But it would be politically difficult for Washington to restore a relationship of this kind with one of the most authoritarian countries in the region, says Cory Welt of the Eurasian Strategy Project at Georgetown University.
US soldiers have still been able to pass through Uzbekistan on their way to Afghanistan - via a German airbase at Termez - but only if they are attached to Nato forces.
The Kazakh government has a warmer relationship with the US, but it has not offered Washington a lifeline out of its current predicament.
US aircraft carrying out military operations in Afghanistan are allowed to land at the military section of Almaty airport in emergencies, but not as a matter of routine.
Arab states
A spokesman for the US military, Major John Redfield, said another potential option would be an extension of the air supply routes from Kuwait and Qatar.
The Pentagon already has airbases in both countries, but Major Redfield told the BBC that flying supplies in from the Arab states would be three or four times more expensive than other options such using trucks, trains or ships from countries neighbouring Afghanistan.
The closure plan for Manas still needs to be approved by the Kyrgyz parliament. A vote on the issue has been scheduled for next week.
The pro-government party holds a majority of the seats in parliament and all that is needed is a simple majority.
So on the face of it, the vote could be a formality, says Georgetown University's Cory Welt.
"But there could also be a way for the government to change its mind on the closure without losing face, by asking its MPs to vote against its own plan," he says
"It all depends on the balance of power in the Kyrgyz government," Mr Welt says.
For some members, it could be partly a financial question. On the one hand there is the $17m the US is already annually to rent the base - and the $150m it gives each year in aid - on the other, there is the promise of the much larger sum of $2bn (£1.4bn) in aid that Russia is now holding out.
1. Manas airbase: the only US base in Central Asia, a vital transit point for Nato and US operations. Kyrgyz government wants it closed
2. Karshi-Khanabad airbase: US forces were ordered out in 2005. Uzbekistan may agree to allow it to be used for non-military transports
3. Bridge over Panj river: part-funded by the US, it was completed in 2007. May serve as another supply route into Afghanistan
4. Khyber Pass: most supplies to US and Nato troops come through Pakistan. Increasing number of attacks in the area mean the US army is looking for back-up routes
BBC
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