The new

The United States is spending $ 83 million to upgrade its two main air bases in Afghanistan, the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, and Kandahar Air Field in the south. Both bases are being equipped with new runways, new navigation aids and other facilities. The move reinforces the view that Washington intends to maintain a permanent military presence in Afghanistan in order to ensure that the US continues to have access to the huge deposits of oil and gas in Central Asia and the Caspian region.