US loses major air base
On July 30, Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry summarily notified the US Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, that US forces would be evicted from the Karshi-Khanabad (K2) air base; the only US military facility in the country. The eviction notice gives the US 180 days to move aircraft, personnel and military equipment from the base in southern Uzbekistan.
The article mostly talks about the political impact of this, as Uzbekistan had been a close ally in the war on Terror. Uzbekistan's move seems to be a move to align itself with China and Russia at the expense of the US.
But on a practical level it is also important in that the K2 base is the best air base we have in the region. Operations in Afganistan will become harder because planes will have to fly further or will have to operate from rough air fields.
Jay