KYRGYZSTAN-US-MILITARY-AFGHANISTAN

US soldiers arrived from Afghanistan stand near a plane at the US airbase 30 km outside Bishkek in Manas on February 26, 2009. The soldiers who had been serving with ISAF forces in Afghanistan made a layover on their way to Germany. The United States is still holding out hope for a deal with Kyrgyzstan to avoid the closure of the US military supply base there for Afghanistan even after the Kyrgyz president formalised the shutdown. AFP PHOTO / VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO (Photo credit should read VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO/AFP/Getty Images)