Uzbekistan possesses the largest military force in Central Asia, with around 65,000 people in uniform. Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ...

Structure and cost

Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, used to be the headquarters of the Soviet Turkestan Military District and when the country became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, it inherited that organization. Over the succeeding years, it replaced the Russian and Slavic officers with ethnic Uzbeks and restructured the military to focus on targets like civil unrest, drug trafficking, and Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Tashkent Tashkent (Uzbek: , Russian: , English: ) is the current capital of Uzbekistan and also of Tashkent Province. ... Motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) Translation: Workers of the world, unite!) Anthem: The Internationale (1922-1944) Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1991) Capital (and largest city) Moscow None; Russian de facto Government Federation of Soviet Republics  - Last President Mikhail Gorbachev  - Last Premier Ivan Silayev Establishment October Revolution   - Declared... Military districts are territorial entities used for the purposes of military planning and strategizing. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Countries inhabited predominantly by Slavic peoples The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Eastern Europe. ... Retail selling Street selling is the bottom of the chain and can be accomplished through purchasing from prostitutes, through cloaked retail stores or refuse houses for users in the act located in red-light districts which often also deal in paraphernalia, dealers marketing merriment at night clubs and other events... Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabic: ﺣﺰﺏ ﺍﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ; meaning Party of Liberation) is an Islamic organization founded by Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, religious judge (qadi) of Jerusalem al-quds in 1953, dedicated to the re-establishment of the Khilafah state & removing all imperialistic non-Islamic...

The Government of Uzbekistan spends about 3.7% of GDP on the military, which is divided into the Army, Air and Air Defence Forces, Security Forces (internal and border troops), and National Guard. The Air and Air Defence Forces may include a 66th Brigade at Chirchiq flying helicopters, while it appears the 34th (or the 37th) Brigade of the Ministry of Defence is at Andijan. ^[1] According to the 1992 Law on Defense, Uzbekistan's military is for defensive purposes only. In terms of potential recruits, Uzbekistan has about 7 million males age 15-49. Chirchiq (or Chirchik) is a city (1999 pop. ... Andijan is the capital of the Andijon province, which includes the Ferghana Valley Andijan (Andijon in Uzbek; also Andizhan, Andizan, Андижан) is the fourth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and the capital of the Andijan Province. ...

Activities and foreign relations

US military bases

After September 11, 2001, the United States leased the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base in southern Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan. The World Trade Center on fire The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. ... Karshi-Khanabad is an airbase in south-eastern Uzbekistan leased by the government of Uzbekistan to the United States. ...

In May 2005, the military was involved in suppressing unrest in the Ferghana Valley city of Andijan. (See May 2005 unrest in Uzbekistan for more details.) A joint statement of the member countries of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation issued in early July, 2005 on a conference in Astana (Kazakstan) called for a withdrawal of US troops from military bases in Central Asia. On July 29, 2005, Uzbekistan invoked a provision asking the U.S. to leave within 180 days. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Fergana Valley (also Ferghana Valley) is a region of Central Asia spreading across Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. ... Andijan is the capital of the Andijon province, which includes the Ferghana Valley Andijan (Andijon in Uzbek; also Andizhan, Andizan, Андижан) is the fourth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and the capital of the Andijan Province. ... In May 2005 unrest in Uzbekistan reached a head when Uzbek troops fired into a crowd of protesters in the eastern city of Andijan, killing an estimated 400 to 1000 people on 13 May, in what has been termed the Andijan massacre. ... Membership 6 member states 4 observer states Headquarters Secretariat RATS - Beijing - Tashkent Working languages Chinese, Russian Secretary General Zhang Deguang Formation 14 June 2001 Official website http://www. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On November 21st, 2005, the withdrawal of US troops from Uzbekistan was completed.

Arms control and non-proliferation

The government has accepted the arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union, acceded to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (as a non-nuclear state), and has supported an active program by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in western Uzbekistan (Nukus and Vozrozhdeniye Island). The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a treaty, opened for signature on July 1, 1968, restricting the possession of nuclear weapons. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Vozrozhdeniya Island. ...

European Union banned arm sales

In 2005 EU bans arms sales and imposes one-year visa ban on 12 senior officials, including the security chief and interior and defence ministers, accusing them of bearing responsibility for Andijan violence. [1]

Russian-Uzbek military alliance

Uzbekistan and Russia signed a mutual defence pact in 2005, what will also result in closer military cooperation. This marked a stark contrast to a few years earlier, when the US appeared to be Uzbekistan's favoured foreign friend, and relations with Russia were cooler. [2]

External links and sources

1. ^ http://www.press-service.uz/en/content.scm?contentId=8908

General

• CIA World Factbook page on Uzbekistan

On the troop withdrawal

• US military base closed in Uzbekistan (Xinhua; November 22nd, 2005)
• US military withdraw from Uzbek air base (Pravda; November 21st, 2005)
• Ceremony to close US military base held in Uzbekistan (RIA Novosti; November 21st, 2005)
• US vacates Uzbekistan military base (Aljazeera; November 22nd, 2005)
• Last US plane leaves Uzbek base (BBC; November 21st, 2005)
• US Completes Withdrawal From Uzbek Base (Guardian; November 21st, 2005)