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.
A U.S. F-35C shot down an Iranian drone operating near the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier Feb. 3 in a dramatic incident that American military officials cautioned could lead to conflict amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S.
