Worldandnation: U.S. plans to use Central Asian nations as bases

U.S. plans to use Central Asian nations as bases

Compiled from Times wires

WASHINGTON -- The planned deployment of American fighter jets and ground forces to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan is the payoff for a 3-year-old program of U.S. military engagement with the two former Soviet republics that are perched along Afghanistan's northern border, the Washington Post reported, quoting U.S. officials.

The deployment would be the first by a U.S. military force to an area that was once part of the Soviet Union, a precedent that may arouse concerns in Russia and China.

It also would draw the United States closer to an Uzbek government that human rights groups have accused of indiscriminately jailing scores of innocent people in the name of combating Islamic militancy.

Uzbekistan, which has shown the most independent attitude toward Moscow among the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, has been open about welcoming U.S. forces, which under current planning would be sent to the region to take part in a U.S. military move against terrorist sites in Afghanistan and its Taliban militia.

Tajikistan, on the other hand, has been sensitive to having U.S. forces on its territory, and it is not expected to officially acknowledge their presence, U.S. officials said. They said the U.S. deployment will be deliberately low profile, with the Americans likely operating from former Soviet bases and kept far from the media and the local population. Tajikistan has maintained closer ties to Moscow than Uzbekistan and still has thousands of Russian troops on its soil.

Under current thinking, the United States will fly F-15E fighter-bombers from Uzbekistan and put combat search-and-rescue teams in Tajikistan, with Special Forces liaison units operating in both countries. F-16 fighters may occasionally move into Tajikistan, but only at remote locations, and will not operate there on a long-term basis, a Defense Department official said.

Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni said having U.S. aircraft able to operate from bases near Afghanistan notably increased the flexibility of U.S. military operations. Land-based aircraft have much longer range than do planes based on aircraft carriers.

The air bases in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan could also be used as staging bases for ground troop assaults in Afghanistan.