The haggling over rent at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan may be coming to a close, now that officials at the US Embassy in Bishkek say they want a “quick conclusion” to discussions with the Kyrgyz government, an embassy spokesman told Reuters news service. The comment came a day after Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev told the US he would evict the American military if the US did not agree to a new monetary arrangement. Manas serves as a primary staging area for USAF refueling tankers supporting operations in Afghanistan.
Lt. Gen. Stephen L. Davis, the Department of the Air Force’s top internal watchdog, has been nominated to lead Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the service’s bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.