U.S. negotiations on long-term base in Uzbekistan and current aid to continue

The Washington Post reports ["Crackdown Muddies U.S.-Uzbek Relations
Washington in Talks on Long-Term Use of Base," Ann Scott Tyson and Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writers, Saturday, June 4, 2005; Page A01] today that the "United States is negotiating long-term use of a major military base in Uzbekistan to expand the global reach of American forces, despite a brutal government crackdown on protests there last month".

U.S. aid to Uzbekistan will of course continue. The repression in Andijan is at least sparking some Congressional attention and potential PR problems for the U.S.

Excerpts:

The U.S. military has relied heavily on Uzbekistan since 2001 in operations in Afghanistan, but on a temporary basis. U.S. Special Operations Forces, intelligence and reconnaissance missions, and air logistics flights all use the Karshi-Khanabad (K2) airfield in southeastern Uzbekistan, according to an official report on U.S. basing.
...

U.S. officials are concerned that U.S.-trained military units might have participated in the Uzbekistan government's suppression of unrest in Andijan on May 13. U.S. senators including Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and human rights advocates say they are pressing the administration to investigate that possibility -- and to stop any talks on military basing until Uzbekistan agrees to an international probe of the killings.
...

[New Hampshire Republican Sen. John E.] Sununu, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Lindsay O. Graham (R-S.C.) visited Uzbekistan this week but were denied meetings with the government. Based on reports of U.S. Embassy officials there who gathered eyewitness accounts, Sununu believes between 500 to 1,000 people were killed in the unrest and that Uzbekistan Special Forces and regular security forces were involved.
...

Still, compensation for the airfield would continue, and possibly grow substantially if agreement is reached on long-term use, which could involve building up the base's infrastructure.
...

Kazakhstan, for example, a vast state stretching from China to the Caspian Sea, grants the United States military airfield access and overflight rights, and is being eyed by the Pentagon for joint military training.

Last month, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice exercised a waiver to allow continued military aid to Kazakhstan on national security grounds despite what the State Department acknowledged were "numerous steps backward" on human rights, State Department spokeswoman Julie M. Reside said.

She said U.S. military aid "enhances democracy" and so Washington will stay "fully engaged" despite what she outlined as Kazakhstan's many recent regressions -- shutting down newspapers and opposition parties and considering laws that would "paralyze" U.S.-funded nongovernmental groups.

Overall, U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF), which provides grants for the purchase of U.S. defense equipment, services and training, has grown by a third since 2001 -- from $3.5 billion to $4.6 billion in 2004, according to State Department figures. Similarly, the United States substantially boosted the training of foreign militaries, with International Military Education and Training (IMET) funds increasing from $57 million in 2001 to more than $90 million in 2004.

While officials say the bulk of FMF grants continue to go to Israel and Egypt, many countries that began receiving such aid anew or for the first time starting in 2001, including Uzbekistan and Pakistan, previously were barred from such military aid because of human rights abuses, nuclear testing, or other problems, according to a report critical of the U.S. military transfers released this week by the World Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in New York that focuses on arms control.