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Uzbekistan possesses the largest military force in Central Asia, with around 65,000 people in uniform.

Contents 1 Structure and cost 2 Activities and foreign relations 2.1 US military bases 2.2 Arms control and non-proliferation 2.3 European Union banned arm sales 2.4 Russian-Uzbek military alliance 3 External links and sources 3.1 General

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.

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.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States leased the Karshi-Khanabad airbase in southern Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan.

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.

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

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).

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]

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]

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

• CIA World Factbook page on Uzbekistan
• US Completes Withdrawal From Uzbek Base (Guardian; November 21st, 2005)