DUSHANBE, February 3, 2012, Asia-Plus — The Obama administration said on February 1 it has exercised a waiver that would allow the U.S. to provide defensive military assistance to Uzbekistan, including supplies of night-vision goggles, personal protection equipment and global positioning systems Silk Road Newsline reports.
“Under the Foreign Operations and Related Programs Act of 2012, the Secretary of State has the authority to waive certain restrictions on assistance to the Government of Uzbekistan if she certifies that it is in the national security interest of the United States to do so, and also that it’s necessary to obtain access to and from Afghanistan for U.S. assistance to that country,” U.S. Department of State spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington.
“The Secretary has issued such a waiver in this case. She made the determination on January 18th and we put it forward to the Hill a couple of days later. It is a six-month waiver. This is the first time we have done this one. She’ll have to review again six months from now. And this is waiver authority that we have through 2013,” she said.
Nuland stressed all military supplies to Uzbekistan would be defensive in nature.
“Examples of the kinds of things that this waiver was given for – this will enhance the Uzbeks’ ability to counteract transnational terrorism and all – things like night vision goggles, personal protection equipment, global positioning systems. It’s defensive in nature, and it’s also supportive of their ability to secure the routes in and out of Afghanistan,” she said.
The six month waiver mentioned by Nuland is a language inserted into the text of the 2012 Foreign Operations appropriations bill that went into effect at the end of December 2011. The bill blocks any budget expenditures to facilitate military assistance to Uzbekistan unless the U.S. Secretary of State provides the Congress with a written waiver “for a period of not more than 6 months and every 6 months thereafter until September 30, 2013″ and “certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that the waiver is in the national security interest and necessary to obtain access to and from Afghanistan for the United States.”
According to the Congressional Budget Justification that details the Foreign Operations section of the 2012 State Department budget request, the Obama administration has requested $100,000 for Uzbekistan under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program run jointly by the U.S. Department of State and the Pentagon.
“These funds will be used to provide non-lethal equipment to help the Uzbek military protect U.S. military cargo transiting Uzbekistan on its way to Afghanistan,” the Budget Justification says.
According to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, a part of the U.S. Department of Defense that runs the FMF program, its aim is “financing through grants or loans the acquisition of U.S. military articles, services, and training, supports U.S. regional stability goals and enables friends and allies to improve their defense capabilities.”
Speaking at a conference on U.S. interests in Central Asia in Washington last week, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake stressed that the waiver would be exercised with a close congressional oversight.
“I think everybody understands that this is in our interest to do as it is to support our troops. It’s a limited six month waiver and we have to, again, provide report to Congress not only about what we are doing and how we are using the money but also what we are doing in other areas of our relations with Uzbekistan,” Blake said.
“We’ve had a very extensive series of consultations with the Hill both on the Senate side and on the House side that I’ve led with colleagues from the Department of Defense and from our Political and Military Affairs Bureau and we’ll continue to do that and we, again, appreciate the support that Congress has provided for this initiative,” he said.
In FY 2012, the Obama administration has also requested $300,000 for Uzbekistan under the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program also run jointly by the U.S. Department of State and the Pentagon.
“Funds will support training for Uzbek military officers focused on human rights, civilian control of the military, and other subjects related to the proper role of a military in a democratic society. Courses will provide training on international human-rights standards, civilian control of the military, and other non-lethal subject matter as part of an expanded IMET program,” the Budget Justification says.
The U.S. has not provided any military assistance to Uzbekistan since 2005.
