U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement
The draft agreement says that U.S. military and Defense Department civilian personnel are exempt from visa requirements and taxation. Afghan taxes and other fees will not be imposed on the entry or exit of goods specifically for the use of U.S. forces. An annex to the draft lists locations where Afghanistan agrees to provide facilities for U.S. forces, including Kabul; Bagram, north of the capital, where the United States has its largest current base; Mazar-e Sharif in northern Afghanistan; Herat in the west; Kandahar in the south; Shindand in Herat province; Sharab in Helmand province; Gardez, south of Kabul; and Jalalabad, to the east. The draft document gives the U.S. the right to deploy American forces on nine bases, including the two biggest, the airfields in Bagram and Kandahar. It also allows U.S. military planes to fly in and out of Afghanistan from seven air bases, including Kabul International Airport. U.S. forces would be permitted under the document to transport supplies from five border crossings, described along with the air bases as "official points of embarkation and debarkation." All bases in Afghanistan would revert to Afghan ownership and sovereignty after 2014, according to the draft.
Transit Center at Manas
Several local political observers believe that despite the changes in the new agreement, activities at the base will continue unaltered, and in fact, as of March 2010, operations continue. In March 2010 the United States transported 50,000 NATO soldiers to Afghanistan via Kyrgyzstan as it represents the quickest and most efficient route. The new agreement does not appear to restrict the kind of materials U.S. forces can move into and out of the base. There have, however, been some concerns as to whether Russia and China will lobby the Kyrgyz government not to renew the lease when the current agreement comes to an end in June 2010.