The use of Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan by American forces now has an official blessing. US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice secured a formal agreement from Kyrgyz officials for open-ended use of the facility, capping the verbal arrangement Defense Secretary Rumsfeld brought home this summer. (DR, 09/07/05) Since the Rumsfeld visit Kyrgyzstan, the country has had a leadership change. In return for the use of Manas, the new Kyrgyz government has requested more money. According to the Washington Post, the US now pays around $50 million per year.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
