As Uzbekistan’s autocrats have completed kicking out the US military and NATO allies, it has extended a warm reception to Russia’s military. Russian news agency Interfax reports that a Russian Air Force unit could be deployed to Karshi-Khanabad Air Base soon—taking the place of US military assets. Russian airplanes could be working with Uzbek aircraft to maintain security in Central Asia, a Moscow military source told Interfax. The source added, “The Americans have left good infrastructure behind.” Nice.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.