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U.S. Gets Regional Help in War
Saturday, November 3, 2001
(10:29 PM ET)
By Jonathan Weisman / USA TODAY

"It's always helpful to see that relations are knitted together at the top," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said of his trip Saturday and Sunday to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. "It's also always best if they have a relatively clear understanding at the top of what we have in mind" for their countries.

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan -- USA TODAY
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's visit to central Asian neighbors of Afghanistan appeared to reap some benefits for the war against terrorism Saturday when it was announced that Tajikistan will let the U.S. assess the possibility of using airbases here. Teams of American military experts are scheduled to descend on three airbases in Tajikistan Sunday to assess whether the airfields can bolster U.S. operations against Afghanistan.

The assessments, announced here by Rumsfeld and Tajik Foreign Affairs Minister Talbak Nazarov, are almost certain to lead to a major expansion of the United States' military presence near the border of Afghanistan, as the nation inches toward a ground war against Osama Bin Laden's al-Qa'eda terrorist network and the Taliban militia that has harbored it.

"There's no question but that they are very interested" in helping the U.S. establish operations at the airbases, Rumsfeld said of the Tajiks.

The largest of the bases here is outside of the Tajik city of Kulyab, close to the border with northern Afghanistan. It was heavily used by Soviet troops during the 1979-89 U.S.S.R.-Afghan war.
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