Rumsfeld: Loss of Uzbek air base would not hurt US mission in Afghanistan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-26 11:51

The U.S. military could sustain its combat and humanitarian operations in Afghanistan even if it lost access to a key air base in neighboring Uzbekistan, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday at the outset of a three-day tour of the region.

"We're always thinking ahead. We'll be fine," Rumsfeld told reporters traveling with him from Washington.

A frequent visitor to Central Asia since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Rumsfeld arrived here amid growing questions about the U.S. government's longer-term intentions.

The Uzbek government has raised doubt about continued U.S. access to Karshi-Khanabad air base, which has been used as a staging point for operations in Afghanistan since the start of the war in October 2001.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (L) stands with U.S. Ambassador Stephen Young (R) and U.S. Army Colonel Randy Kee (C) as he arrives in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan July 25, 2005. Rumsfeld said on Monday Washington would keep military bases in Central Asia, while officials moved to dispel fears it wants permanent facilities in the region. [Reuters]

In Bishkek, Rumsfeld was scheduled to meet Tuesday with newly elected President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his acting minister of defense, Gen. Maj. Ismail Isakov. It is Rumsfeld's second visit in four months to this former Soviet republic of 5 million people, which also hosts a Russian base.

The United States has about 1,000 troops stationed at Manas International Airport, near the Kyrgyz capital, to support the reception of tons of air cargo for transshipment to U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

In an April visit, Bakiyev, then the acting president, assured Rumsfeld that his country would abide by all its international agreements, including the arrangement for U.S. use of the Manas airfield.

But the day after his election July 10, Bakiyev signaled a possible change in his view.

"Afghanistan has had presidential and parliamentary elections," he said. "The situation there has stabilized. So now we may begin discussing the necessity of U.S. military forces. When and how it will happen, time will show."

Also, a regional organization led by Russia and China issued a statement calling for the United States to set a timetable for withdrawing its forces from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week he thought that sounded like Russian and Chinese bullying tactics. Rumsfeld indicated that he agreed with Myers' assessment.

"I think each country in the region, however, will make up their own minds as to what their relationships with others will be," Rumsfeld said.

Asked about Iraq, Rumsfeld predicted that the drafters of a constitution would complete their work on time, by August 15.

"They're going to get the job done. They will have a constitution, in my view. They will have a referendum on the constitution, and then they'll have an election" of a permanent government, he said.

Asked whether that will all be accomplished by December 15, as scheduled, he replied, "I would certainly think so. I don't see any reason why they can't. They're making very good progress" despite the assassination of two Sunni Arab constitution drafters and a walkout by other Sunni Arabs.

Tensions in Washington's relations with Kyrgyszstan and other Central Asian nations stem partly from an eruption of violence in mid-May in the Uzbek city of Andijan.

The Uzbek government blamed armed, organized terrorists and said about 175 people were killed, some by government forces. Others claimed that up to 1,500 had died at the hands of government troops, including a large number of innocent bystanders.

When the United States urged the Uzbek government to allow an international fact-finding mission, President Islam Karimov refused and imposed new limits on U.S. use of Karshi-Khanabad air base.

Some non-government experts on Central Asia blame the State Department for not taking the initiative to develop a regional policy that assures Kyrgyzstan and others in the area that the United States' interest in the region goes beyond fighting terrorists in Afghanistan.

S. Frederick Starr, chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said in a telephone interview Friday that the administration needs to go beyond the hastily arranged partnership it made with these countries - most of them former Soviet republics - in the immediate aftermath of September 11, 2001.

"The fact is, since our big initiative (after 9/11) we've basically treated these people with the back of our hand," Starr said.

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