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A recent New York Times article revealed that U.S. Green Beret troopswere stationed in Uzbekistan and were training the Uzbeki military inmarksmanship, infantry patrolling, map reading and other skills. Inaddition, the article made public the United States provision of"nonlethal" equipment like helmets, flak jackets, Humvee transportvehicles, and night-vision goggles to the Uzbeki military and borderguards. In the decade since its independence from the Soviet Union, U.S.weapons sales to Uzbekistan have gone from zero to more than $4 millionin the last three years. Funding for the International MilitaryEducation and Training (IMET) program has also risen in the last fewyears, from $526,000 in 1999 to $550,000 for 2000. Now that Uzbekistanis our close ally in the war on terrorism, that figure is likely toincrease substantially. Although the New York Times made clear that U.S. Special Forces havebeen operating in Uzbekistan since 1996, the Uzbeki President denied itas recently as two weeks ago. In a news conference with DefenseSecretary Donald Rumsfeld, Karimov was asked the following question: "Mr. President, how many American forces will be in your country? Whichairfield have you offered? Did you agree that American Special Forceswould be allowed to operate from Uzbekistan?" He replied by saying, "Special Operations Forces will not be deployedin the territory of Uzbekistan." Karimov's disavowal of the depth of his relationship with the UnitedStates points to the nation's iron fisted control of information,something that makes the country an attractive launching pad for U.S.operations. One Air Force official, quoted in the Washington Post,happily noted that "CNN can't film" U.S. aircraft taking off from Uzbekiairfields. Karimov's spokesman described Uzbekistan, which shares an85-mile border with Afghanistan, as a "closed country." According to the State Department's 2000 Human Rights report,"Uzbekistan is an authoritarian state with limited civil rights. [In2000] the Government's poor human rights record worsened, and theGovernment continued to commit numerous serious abuses... Citizenscannot exercise their right to change their government peacefully...There were credible reports that security force mistreatment resulted inthe deaths of several citizens in custody. Police and NSS forcestortured, beat, and harassed persons. The security forces arbitrarilyarrested or detained pious Muslims and other citizens on false charges,frequently planting narcotics, weapons, or forbidden literature onthem." But the Bush administration is now turning a blind eye to the uglyunderbelly of its new best friend. One unnamed U.S. government officialcompared the new Uzbeki-U.S. relationship to " modern dating...Sometimesyou get married, sometimes you get a temporary restraining order." Inthe case of the relationship between Uzbekistan and the United States,"it seems like we're engaged and things are going well." But, this "marriage" between Uzbekistan and the United States is onemore instance of U.S. dependence on allies in the fight for "enduringfreedom" that are not free or even democratic. Frida Berrigan is aResearch Associate at theWorld Policy Institute. Resources: Robert Fisk's article "Our Friends are Killer, Crooks and Terrorists,"
www.commondreams.org/views01/1007-06.htm Human Rights Watch, Uzbekistan page:
www.hrw.org/europe/uzbekistan.php State Department, Human Rights Report, Uzbekistan:
www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/eur/index.cfm?docid=858 "Bush's Uzbek Bargain," Dilip Hiro,
www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=special&s;=hiro20011017 For more on U.S. weapons sales to regions of conflict visit the ArmsTrade Resource Center site at
www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms ###
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