The Kyrgyzstan parliament voted to close Manas AB—often used as a stopping point for troops and equipment supporting operations in Afghanistan—rather than renew the lease when it expires in 2014, reported Defense News. There are about 1,500 US troops and contractors assigned to the base. The draft measure, which still must be signed in to law by President Almazbek Atambayev, was passed almost unanimously. The future of the base has been a point of contention between the US and Kyrgyzstan government for years and Atambayev has repeatedly voiced concern that the base poses too much of a security risk.
After years of describing to lawmakers and Pentagon leaders the nature of that threat and the key role spacepower plays in deterring conflict in the domain and enabling the rest of the joint force, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman told reporters during AFA’s Warfare Symposium here that the message appears to…