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U.S. to base forces in Uzbekistan
Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 6, 2001
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- Uzbekistan gave official permission Friday for unprecedented U.S. military presence on former Soviet territory, announcing it will allow American troops and aircraft to base operations here as the first wave of 1,000 ground combat troops was scheduled to arrive.
In a demonstration of how the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington have resulted in once unlikely partnerships to fight terrorism, Uzbek President Islam Karimov announced the deal to host U.S. ground troops after a meeting Friday with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The arrival of the troops will mark the first major deployment overseas since the attacks.
While stressing that he had not consented to use of Uzbek territory to launch strikes against neighboring Afghanistan for now, Karimov said the United States would have use of an Uzbek military air base and freedom to launch humanitarian and combat search and rescue missions from his territory.
"We are not quite ready yet" for allowing U.S. Special Forces to launch attacks from Uzbek soil against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban regime, Karimov told reporters during a joint appearance with Rumsfeld. But, according to the Washington Post, a senior Bush administration official said Washington expects to receive such consent from Karimov.
The U.S. troop presence here will eventually number in the several thousands, according to the administration official, and Pentagon officials said that about 1,000 troops from the 10th Mountain Division were en route here Friday to provide security for the American deployment. Although Karimov refused to say where they would be stationed, the administration official said they would operate out of the former Soviet airbase in Khanabad, a large military facility south of here within easy range of Afghanistan.
In agreeing to host U.S. ground troops, Uzbekistan has become the United States's most significant military ally in the volatile region bordering Afghanistan, providing crucial access to the north of the country. And unlike Pakistan, on Afghanistan's southern and eastern borders, there is little threat of political protest here against cooperation with the United States. Karimov's authoritarian regime has waged an effective campaign against all forms of internal dissent, particularly targeting proponents of the militant form of Islam espoused by Afghanistan's Taliban.
Friday's public acknowledgement of the deal also marks a major shift in the balance of power here in Central Asia, which Russia still considers its sphere of influence a decade after the Soviet Union's collapse.
Uzbekistan has long pursued the most independent policy of the five post-Soviet republics in Central Asia, courting friendly relations with the United States over Russian objections. But even for Uzbekistan, playing host to American troops represents a radical departure.
It isn't clear what promises the United States has made to Uzbekistan in exchange for the swift granting of permission to move military forces here.
"There has been no specific quid pro quo," Rumsfeld said. Karimov, too, denied any explicit exchange but spoke vaguely of "guarantees" he wanted from Washington.
Describing the negotiations, the Bush administration official said Uzbekistan had sought both political and military assurances from Washington, and confirmed that there are also ongoing talks about new U.S. economic assistance.
The map of countries around Afghanistan, which the United States accuses of harboring suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, shows the logic of Uzbekistan's importance. All other border states are either inhospitable to the United States, or would be problematic staging grounds.
Tajikistan has been plagued by civil war, and its ragged border to mountainous Afghan territory is virtually impossible to control. Turkmenistan is a far more authoritarian regime than even Uzbekistan and has tried to remain aloof in the region.
Pakistan has large pockets of opposition to a U.S. presence -- including groups that openly support bin Laden. And there's no chance U.S. forces could be based in Iran or China.
That leaves Uzbekistan and its 85 mile border with Afghanistan.
The border has the only bridge across the Amu-Darya River and is long enough to offer space for inserting forces. At the same time, the border is small enough to keep tightly closed, with guard towers providing a view across northern Afghan plains.
Karimov said his talks with Rumsfeld produced four main points of agreement:
U.S. military aircraft can use Uzbek airspace.
Uzbekistan is prepared to "upgrade" its intelligence exchanges with the United States. This is a key point, in Rumsfeld's view, because he believes the Uzbeks have valuable insights into Afghanistan.
U.S. transport planes and helicopters and personnel involved in search and rescue operations can use one Uzbek airfield.
The legal document spelling out the deal will be made public.
Clearly the most significant unresolved issue remains just how far Karimov is willing to go in allowing Uzbekistan to be used as a launching pad for offensive strikes against Afghanistan.
Despite the limitations he described Friday, military officials said, the line between humanitarian and offensive operations probably will blur quickly.
For example, the United States is likely to send fighter jets to escort any U.S. aircraft dropping food inside Afghanistan. And Pentagon officials have raised the prospect of needing to conduct protective airstrikes against antiaircraft batteries in Afghanistan before beginning those airdrops.
Another unresolved question is how long American troops will remain in Uzbekistan. At the end of the news conference, Rumsfeld said, "The interest of the United States is in a long-standing relationship with this country," suggesting a lengthy presence. Karimov smiled and said he was impressed with that statement.
Rumsfeld's visit, the first by a U.S. defense secretary to Tashkent, lasted just three hours. It came on the third and final day of his whirlwind tour of the Middle East and Central Asia, where he has been cementing relationships with allies before Washington launches any military action in Afghanistan.
The troops of the 10th Mountain Division were in the air as he spoke, and were slated to arrive in Uzbekistan a few hours after he left.
The deployment of the reinforced battalion of Army infantry troops is historic for two reasons. It marks the first time U.S. ground troops have been sent on a potential combat mission to territory that once was part of the Soviet Union. It also is the first major deployment of Army troops overseas in the new U.S. campaign against terrorism.
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