US-led operations against Afghanistan's Taliban regime are showing "measurable progress," US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday on a visit to Uzbekistan, the third stage in a five-nation tour.
Rumsfeld was speaking after talks with Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who is allowing US troops to use bases in the country for operations in neighboring Afghanistan.
"The effort to deal with terrorist networks is proceeding," Rumsfeld told a news conference in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.
"We believe it is proceeding at a pace that is showing measurable progress and we certainly appreciate the assistance the government of Uzbekistan has provided to us."
The US defense secretary would not disclose what he talked about with Karimov, except to say that the discussions had been "helpful and informative."
Uzbekistan's defense minister Kadyr Gulamov, also at the news conference, said the question of the US launching combat operations in Afghanistan from Uzbek soil had not been raised in the talks.
Under a deal between the two countries, US troops are only authorized to carry out humanitarian and search and rescue operations from Uzbek bases.
Rumsfeld defended his decision not to detail what assistance Uzbekistan was offering the US effort by saying the US needed to secure the cooperation of dozens of states in its fight against terrorism.
"We need their help in lots of ways and on a basis that they will feel comfortable with," he told reporters.
"So instead of me saying what they are doing and have it reported in the press in one degree different from the way they would characterize it, I let them characterize it."
Rumsfeld arrived in Tashkent after visits to Russia and Tajikistan, another former Soviet republic which neighbors Afghanistan. He is due to fly on to Pakistan and India.
But he said it would be a mistake to interpret his round of visits as meaning that the US-led operations against Afghanistan are about to intensify.
He also noted that since October 7, US aircraft had dropped over one million ration packs into Afghanistan, which aid agencies warn is facing a humanitarian crisis -- TASHKENT (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
