Kyrgyzstan today assured the U.S. it can use a use a key air base on its territory as long as needed to support the war in Afghanistan.

“We support the presence of coalition forces in the Kyrgyz Republic until the mission of fighting terrorism in Afghanistan is completed,” read a joint statement signed by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Kyrgyzstan’s newly elected president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

Rice visited the former Soviet republic as part of a Central Asian tour aimed at boosting democratic reform, cooperating on counter-terrorism and bolstering U.S. influence in the energy-rich area where Russia and China are also vying for increased access.

In my personal opinion (and I have some backing on this), “Ms” should be reserved for cases where you don’t know the marital status, the woman is divorced, but has kept her husband’s name (Ms. Jane Public is no longer Mrs. John Q. Public), or the woman prefers it. Obviously, the person’s preference is paramount; that’s what being well-mannered is all about. (This has a limit; if you’re an American university student and wish to be addressed as “His Excellency Thomas Lord Fairfax, Baron Cameron”, that’s just too bad.) That said, it is not clear what Dr. Rice prefers.

Of course, newspapers tend to stick to Mr/Ms/Dr, whereas my rules are based more on how you’d address a wedding invitation or other formal correspondance.

    Whatever she does, anchoring U.S. interests in Central Asia can only be a two-way street, in which America gives, not only takes, and listens, not only lectures.