*EPF410 01/24/2002
Transcript: Fight Terrorism Globally, Simultaneously, U.S. Gen. Franks Says
(Jan. 23: denies reports of permanent U.S. bases in Central Asia) (1290)

General Tommy R. Franks, head of the U.S. Central Command directing American military operations in Afghanistan, said that while much positive work has been done in the global war on terrorism, a great deal remains to be done to hunt down terrorists and to rebuild Afghanistan.

During a press conference in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz Republic, January 23, Franks also said it would be a mistake to expect the war to move "from one nation to the next sequentially" but rather the idea is to approach the problem "globally, simultaneously, all at the same time."

Franks rejected the idea that the United States wants permanent military bases in Central Asia, explaining that the forces fighting terrorism need to "come and go from a variety of areas."

"And where it makes sense for us to have military basing of coalition assets - not just the assets of the United States of America, but perhaps the assets of great many countries - then we'll make the arrangements and we'll be in certain places for certain periods of time. So that in fact is our plan for basing in the region here," he said.

Asked about reports that chemical weapons will soon be brought into the Kyrgyz Republic, Franks said he has no intention of doing such a thing. "We don't involve any sort of weapons of mass destruction in this campaign today," he said. "We haven't, and we won't in the future."

Following is a transcript of the press conference:

(begin transcript)

PRESS CONFERENCE WITH GENERAL TOMMY R. FRANKS, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND

January 23, 2002
Bishkek, The Kyrgyz Republic

GENERAL FRANKS: When I got off of the airplane out at the airport I was reminded of a comment I made last time I was here in Kyrgyzstan, when I said this is like coming home.

I had an excellent conversation with President [Askar] Akayev, I respect him very much and I very much respect the counsel that he gives me each time I see him.

And I reminded myself in our visit and I reminded President Akayev that after the terrorist attack on the United States of America on the 11th of September it was the Government of Kyrgyzstan and it was President Akayev who very quickly joined the coalition that says we will root out terrorism, we will be a member of this coalition that does this in the future. And so many times since then has this government, and has this president proven true to his word.

And I'm pleased to be back in Kyrgyzstan, I'm very pleased with the meetings that I have had up to this point. I am not very pleased that my visit will be so short. I am pleased with the operations that we have seen up to this point in Afghanistan in the global war on terrorism. I think much positive work has been done with the assistance of Kyrgyzstan as well as other states in the region. But I believe that a great deal of work remains to be done. There in fact will be terrorists remaining which we will have to go hunt down over for a prolonged period of time, and we surely will do that. There is the entirety of the humanitarian and infrastructure work that needs to be done inside Afghanistan to give some 26 million people an opportunity to live in freedom, an opportunity to live in accordance with their own desires, an opportunity which five months ago the people of Afghanistan didn't have. And so I'm pleased with where we are at this point, but I remind everyone that much work remains to be done. And in the work ahead we will be much blessed by the relationship and the support that we receive here in Kyrgyzstan. And after this translation I'll be pleased to answer your questions.

QUESTION FROM ZAMAN KYRGYZSTAN: We know that the military operation has gone successfully in Afghanistan and we also know that terrorism is a danger not only in Afghanistan but for the U.S., for Kyrgyzstan and all countries of the world. What are the future plans once the military operation is completed in Afghanistan, and what other plans do you have for wiping out terrorism throughout the world?

GENERAL FRANKS: As you know the work that we've seen done in Afghanistan is only one part of a global campaign to fight terrorism. And during the last four months, while we, all of us, have been focused on Afghanistan, of course an awful lot of work has been done in a great many countries around the world. There are terrorist cells operating in more than 60 countries around the world as we speak. And since the 11th of September a great deal of work has been done to dismantle and to destroy many of those terrorist networks. Literally hundreds of terrorists have been arrested since the 11th of September, not even counting Afghanistan. And I think what we should all expect is that this work will continue into the future. I believe it would be a mistake to suspect that we would move from one nation to the next sequentially. The idea is for us to approach the problem of terrorism globally, simultaneously, all at the same time. And that's what we'll continue to do. And this coalition with which we work obviously includes Kyrgyzstan and has included Kyrgyzstan since the very beginning. So we'll continue to work to handle the problems of terrorism and extremism and drug trafficking not only in this region but in many great regions around the world.

QUESTION FROM RADIO AZATTYK (RADIO LIBERTY): The Minister of Defense of Poland said that soon chemical weapons will be brought to Kyrgyzstan. What would be the need for chemical weapons in Kyrgyzstan?

GENERAL FRANKS: The only comment that I can make is that if chemical weapons are brought to Kyrgyzstan it won't have anything to do with me, because I have no intention of having any chemical weapons inside Kyrgyzstan. We don't involve any sort of weapons of mass destruction in this campaign today. We haven't, and we won't in the future.

QUESTION FROM ITAR-TASS: A number of influential mass media organizations in Russia and the U.S. say that the Pentagon is going to have a permanent military base in Kyrgyzstan. Can you comment on this?

GENERAL FRANKS: I think not a permanent military base, I think that the coalition of nations working on this global war on terrorism, which as I said includes Kyrgyzstan as well as other states in this region, also includes Russia. And so what we do is we work together to have forces that come and go from a variety of areas that enable us to conduct this attack on terrorism. So we don't intend to have permanent bases in the region at all but what we will do is we continue to work on this war against terrorism as we'll continue to have discussions with each of the countries in the region as well as a great many countries around the world. And where it makes sense for us to have military basing of coalition assets - not just the assets of the United States of America, but perhaps the assets of great many countries - then we'll make the arrangements and we'll be in certain places for certain periods of time. So that in fact is our plan for basing in the region here.

So let me say to all of you thank you for the great hospitality that I find here. And I wish all of you the best.

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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