Kyrgyzstan’s President now says he’s worried about the environmental aspect of the ongoing use of Manas Air Base by American forces. He told Russian news agency Interfax this week that the environmental issue “is well-grounded and requires review together with our American partners.” Is this a ploy to get more money? (DR 09/07/05)
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.