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U.S. Hopes to Use Tajikistan Bases
Monday, November 5, 2001
(4:11 PM ET) (21:11 GMT)
The Cable News Network

Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem said a U.S. assessment team is in Tajikistan to check out three bases.
Photo Credit: CNN.

WASHINGTON -- CNN
The Pentagon hopes to use three bases in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan to launch attack and supply missions on Afghanistan, a U.S. military spokesman said Monday.

"We would hope to have a capability to get access to Afghanistan from the north and the south," Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem said.

Bases in Tajikistan would allow U.S. pilots to hit their targets more quickly, burning less fuel, and would give resupply missions a shorter turnaround time, Stufflebeem said. A U.S. assessment team was in Tajikistan to determine whether the bases would meet those needs.
(More: CNN.com News Source)
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Dan