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27 September 2000
Tashkent, Uzbekistan - General Tommy Franks, commander-in-chief of the
U.S. Army Central Command (CENTCOM), met with journalists September 27
during a visit to Central Asia, his first since taking command of
CENTCOM earlier this year.
The Central Command is responsible for military-to-military relations
in an area that ranges from Africa through the Middle East, to
southwest and Central Asia. Franks said CENTCOM focuses on enhancing
security and stability in the region -- adding that "we have found
over time that Uzbekistan is central to our efforts."
He cited military-to-military activities such as training exercises --
including Centrasbat, an annual peacekeeping and humanitarian
assistance field exercise involving forces from the United States,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and other countries --
conferences, seminars and discussions with the military leaders of
Uzbekistan and the other Central Asian countries.
Franks answered reporters' questions about incursions into Uzbekistan
by the IMU (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan), which has been designated
a terrorist organization by the State Department; Afghanistan,
particularly the Taliban; Russian military support in the region, and
other issues.
"I am very impressed with the way that Uzbekistan as well as
Kyrgyzstan undertook to quiet the IMU problem," he said. "I believe
that the sovereign states in this region have every responsibility and
every right to protect themselves from the incursion of terrorists...
There is no such thing as a clean, surgical gunfight. But I believe
that the regional forces involved in this operation did a good job of
protecting their own security as well as protecting their own people."
Franks said the fighting between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance
"is destabilizing, and in fact Afghanistan as a failed state is
destabilizing to this entire region. We remain concerned about the
export of extremism, the trafficking in illegal narcotics, and
proliferation. And as I said before, the responsibility of the Central
Command is to do all that we can to provide stability."
In addition to joint training exercises like Centrasbat, CENTCOM
sponsors individual training programs such as sending Uzbek students
to American military schools, Franks said. CENTCOM also provides some
military equipment to the Uzbek armed forces and security forces. "In
the past, we have provided medical assets, uniform items, vehicles,
and certain technical equipment, and we would anticipate that such
coordination would continue in the future," he said.
While he didn't specify the amount of U.S. military assistance for
Central Asia next year, Franks predicted an increase in
military-to-military activities and training exercises, and continued
levels of foreign military financing, support for regional students
attending U.S. military schools, and funding for counter-narcotics
efforts.
Following is a transcript of the press conference:
Transcript of Press Roundtable with General Tommy R. Franks
Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Central Command
September 27, 2000
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Gen. Franks: As many of you know, this is my first trip to Central Asia. I am very
pleased to end my trip by visiting the very center of Central Asia.
Our interests in the region and certainly my interest in the region
have everything to do with security and stability. Our goals and the
goals of the Central Command are to provide for peace and prosperity
in this region. Indeed, I am pleased to be here in Tashkent; I find
this to be a beautiful city.
I will undertake while I am here several discussions with Uzbek
leaders. I look forward to continuing my discussions with Minister of
Defense [Yuri] Agzamov, whom I met about two weeks ago in Kazakhstan.
Many of us were together in that time frame, to take a look at the
CENTRASBAT exercise. And I was very impressed with what I saw. I was
impressed with the skills and the discipline of Uzbek soldiers. And I
want to continue the very excellent working relationships that the
Central Command has had with the Uzbekistan military for several years
now. In fact, it is an excellent military-to-military relationship.
I am also honored to spend time here with U.S. Ambassador [Joseph]
Presel. The military and the diplomatic sides of my government will
continue to work very closely together to advance our considerable
interests in this country and in this region.
Now the fact is, I'm here to learn. And I'm here to listen. As I
mentioned, I will see Minister Agzamov and President [Islom] Karimov.
I very much look forward to those meetings. I believe that this
provides us with an excellent opportunity to build on the excellent
relationship that we have. It will allow us to continue our
professional dialogue, and to maintain continuity in our efforts over
time.
Our work here is not near-term work. The key to me as I work on our
relationship and as I work on items of mutual interest will be to grow
our cooperation and our coordination.
This ends my prepared remarks. I would be glad to discuss any issues
that you have.
Turkiston News Agency: In the press release, it says that the Central
Command is responsible for carrying out military activities during
peacetime in countries of the region. Can you tell me what sorts of
activities and plans you have for the future?
Gen. Franks: I would be pleased to, thank you very much. As I
mentioned in my prepared remarks, our interest remains security and
stability in the region. We have found over time that Uzbekistan is
central to our efforts. We have conducted a series of conferences,
seminars and discussions with the military leaders of this country.
Additionally, several times in the past year we have had opportunities
to have training exercises between some of the forces of Central
Command and some of the Uzbek forces. The key to our efforts has been
cooperation and coordination.
The Central Command sponsors a variety of individual training programs
as well. For example, over the past year, we have had a number of
Uzbek students in American military schools. Additionally, we work in
very close cooperation with the Uzbek Armed Forces and the security
forces to provide items of military equipment. In the past, we have
provided medical assets, uniform items, vehicles, and certain
technical equipment, and we would anticipate that such coordination
would continue in the future.
BBC: Given what you have said about your concern about stability and
security in the Central Asian region, when you meet with President
Karimov and the Defense Minister, will you be raising Afghanistan, and
what in particular is your view of what has been happening near the
Tajik border?
Gen. Franks: As a military man, I guess I would tell you that when I
meet with the President I will discuss whatever he would like.
(laughter) I suspect that the discussion will include Afghanistan, and
that we will discuss the recent incursions by the IMU [Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan], the terrorist organization. I will be very
interested to consult with the President and the Minister of Defense
to get their views. I am sure that all of you journalists who are
seated here are aware that our State Department has declared the IMU
as a terrorist organization. And as such, I am sure that we will talk
about where the sponsorship of that organization comes from. So I look
forward to a good discussion.
For potential follow-up, does that answer the question that you had in
mind?
BBC: Can you give some reaction to the current fighting in
Afghanistan, particularly to what appears to be a change in reaction
from the Uzbek leadership toward the Taliban?
Gen. Franks: I'll take the latter part of the question first. With
regard to Uzbek commentary on the Taliban, I am not familiar with that
and so I can't talk to that issue. I will give you my view, which is
that the situation inside of Afghanistan is troublesome. The fighting
that we currently see between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance is
destabilizing, and in fact Afghanistan as a failed state is
destabilizing to this entire region. We remain concerned about the
export of extremism, the trafficking in illegal narcotics, and
proliferation. And as I said before, the responsibility of the Central
Command is to do all that we can to provide stability. So anything
that produces instability is of concern to us.
Agence France Presse: What is your assessment of the results of the
Uzbek military operations in the southern part of Uzbekistan as well
as in the Tashkent region?
Gen. Franks: I have two comments. The first is that as I had the
opportunity to visit with both Kyrgyz and Uzbek soldiers in Kazakhstan
during the (CENTRASBAT) exercise, as I mentioned before, I was very
impressed with them. The second part is that from everything that I
read and understand, I am very impressed with the way that Uzbekistan
as well as Kyrgyzstan undertook to quiet the IMU problem.
I believe that the sovereign states in this region have every
responsibility and every right to protect themselves from the
incursion of terrorists. I believe that the security forces involved
in this operation did a very good job. I think that they are to be
applauded. I also believe they did a good job in minimizing civilian
casualties. There is no such thing as a clean, surgical gunfight. But
I believe that the regional forces involved in this operation did a
good job of protecting their own security as well as protecting their
own people.
UPI: There has been a report lately that the U.S. Senate has approved
appropriations for several millions of dollars for six countries,
including Uzbekistan. I would like to know in detail how much is
Uzbekistan's share, when the money will be given, and for what
purposes? Another question is that Tajik newspapers are full of
reports about the deaths of Uzbek and Tajik civilians at the border
due to mines planted by the Uzbek military in unmarked areas. What do
you think about this?
Gen. Franks: I will take the second question first. As you know, the
United States of America is involved in several cases with our
partners and with our allies in what we call "humanitarian de-mining
operations." I will not commit the [word missing] of the United
States, but I will say that we have in the past been interested in
assisting in places where there were mine problems for local civilian
populations. This is the first I have heard of this. I had not read
that report.
With respect to your first question: the action by the U.S. Senate. As
you know, this is the time of year when the Congress of the United
States appropriates and authorizes funding for a variety of purposes
to run our federal government. I would hesitate to give you an overall
figure as an amount of money that has recently been appropriated for
use in this region. But I can talk to you about the categories and the
level of support that, I believe, we will see in the future. I believe
that we will see an increase in the military-to-military activities
and the training exercises that we conduct specifically with
Uzbekistan, but also throughout this region. We will continue to see a
level of what we call "foreign military financing" placed into this
region. I believe we will continue to underwrite the attendance of
students from this region in American military schools. And you will
continue to see some funding placed for counter-narcotics efforts in
this region. And I apologize to you that I can't give you the overall
number, but I do see a continuing level of effort in those categories
here in Central Asia.
Inter-Fax: General Franks, we know that the region and, in particular,
Uzbekistan needs military support under these circumstances. Russia
also demonstrates some activity in this direction. Don't the U.S. and
Russia have a conflict of interests here? And won't this interfere
with U.S. activity in the region?
Gen. Franks: I think this is a fair question. Again, I will start at
the end of the question. No, I don't think there will be any
collision. I believe there are a number of countries who are engaged
with Uzbekistan and have been engaged with Uzbekistan in the past to
provide cooperation. I believe that that cooperation will continue
and, I believe, Russia will be among the countries to offer that
cooperation.
The comment that I have made to several of my friends and continue to
make is that the Central Command is here for coordination and
cooperation, not for competition. I believe that President Karimov as
well as the leaders of the other governments in Central Asia will each
make their own determinations as sovereign states about the levels of
cooperation which they seek with the whole variety of nations, and I
believe we encourage that.
So far as the Central Command is concerned, as the military
representative of the United States of America what we want to do is
assure that we have continuity and focus in our effort here and we
want to be responsive in our cooperation with Uzbekistan.
VOA: Uzbekistan does not produce arms and has a need for technical
assistance. Has the Uzbek government asked the U.S. Government for
technical assistance and will the United States provide arms to
Uzbekistan and, if so, on what basis?
Gen. Franks: Over the past several years there has been a cooperative
relationship between Central Command and the Government of Uzbekistan,
and during the course of that, certainly, assistance has been
provided. The assistance has included training; it has also included
various items of equipment, to include transportation, some technical
equipment for night vision, some uniform items, and a number of pieces
of equipment associated with communications command and control.
VOA: Was this a loan or free of charge?
Gen. Franks: In some cases it is a free of charge and in other cases
it is paid for.
Turkiston-Press: You have just come back from Kyrgyzstan and in the
framework of your visit there, the Kyrgyz Army, which is now fighting
against religious extremists, has been given assistance. Will similar
assistance be given to the Uzbek Army to confront the terrorists?
Gen. Franks: Absolutely. We are concerned with two things. We are
concerned with our bilateral military-to-military relations with
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakstan. And of course, we applaud the
efforts by the leaders of these nations to get together in the summits
that have recently been conducted. We cooperate with and support each
of the states involved in countering this terrorist threat and we
support the efforts when the countries work together for the same
purposes.
UPI: As I understand it, there will be additional military aid given
to Uzbekistan other than you've just mentioned, is that so?
Gen. Franks: I am sure that there will be additional assistance, and
this is one of the reasons for my visit. I mentioned that I wanted to
visit to acquaint myself with the region and with Uzbekistan. Well,
another reason that I wanted to visit is to determine what cooperation
the Government of Uzbekistan seeks. I know that there will be
continuing interest in training possibilities, and I am sure that
there will be some interest in equipment possibilities as well.
UPI: Can you also talk about the next Centrasbat exercises? When and
where will they be held and who will be the participants?
Gen. Franks: It has not been formally decided, but I believe the next
Centrasbat may be conducted as what we call an "off-site." It may be
that the nations will be invited to conduct this exercise in Germany.
There has been some discussion of that, and under the Partnership for
Peace program, I believe, any of the participants in Partnership for
Peace may be involved.
As you know, this year we had a great variety of troops. We had in
Kazakhstan some troops from the United States, from the UK, Mongolia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. It was an
excellent training opportunity for two reasons. One reason was because
it permitted the sharing of skills, the sharing of the lessons that
each of these armies brought. Secondly, it offered the opportunity for
the soldiers themselves from the various armies to have a chance to be
together to discuss among themselves tactics, techniques and
procedures. So the Centrasbat exercise is a very good exercise, and
whether we hold it in Germany or whether it is hosted somewhere in the
region this coming year is not as important in my view as it is that
we conduct the exercise.
Agence France-Presse: Do you have any information on the casualties
from the Uzbek side during the recent military conflict?
Gen. Franks: No, I really don't.
BBC: In one of your earlier responses to the question talking about
the level of military-to-military relations and equipment, you said
"you will see an increase in military-to-military relations." I wonder
why that is the case.
Gen. Franks: The specific point I wanted to make was about the
training activity. We will see the level of training cooperation grow.
And what we see there is, and I will give you a specific example, is
that during this past year we conducted two field exercises with the
Uzbek security forces that had to do with operations in mountainous
terrain and built-up terrain, in the city. These two training
exercises -- and I hesitate to call them training exercises, they were
demonstrations as much as they were training exercises -- but these
two exercises were very well-received by the Uzbek participants. So
the request has been made by our host to have four training exercises
this coming year rather than two. So I anticipate that we will have
one exercise for mountainous terrain, one for desert terrain, one for
built-up areas, and then a field-exercise that will be command and
control of small units involved in such operations.
Turkiston-Press: I see from your biography that you have many military
and government awards. Can you tell us for what you received your
medals and awards?
Gen. Franks: That is a very embarrassing question (laughter). My wife
would tell you if you stay in the Armed Forces long enough, you will
gain a lot of medals. In fact, in my case, I have been honored to
serve in a great many places around the world. I have been honored to
serve my country for a long period of time. I have been honored to
work with some absolutely wonderful young soldiers. And because of
those wonderful young soldiers my country has given me many awards.
Inter-Fax: Where are you heading after Uzbekistan?
Gen. Franks: Two weeks ago I visited Kazakhstan. And then I returned
to the United States for a few days. I came back and I visited
Kyrgyzstan. I went yesterday and visited briefly Turkmenistan, and I
saved the center of Central Asia until today. And that's why I am here
in Uzbekistan. Tomorrow I will leave to return to the United States
via Italy. And I might add that I hope to return to Uzbekistan very
soon.
Thank you all very much.
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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