TASHKENT, Oct 5: Some 1,000 US elite troops are en route to Uzbekistan in the first major deployment of US ground forces in the showdown with Afghanistan, an official travelling with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Friday.
“The 10th mountain division is in the air,” the official told reporters travelling with Rumsfeld, who flew into Tashkent from Cairo.
The 10th mountain division, which specializes in cold-weather fighting, could also be used as a rapid-reaction force to back up special forces’ missions in Afghanistan, the Washington Post reported earlier this week.
US troops have held military exercises in former Soviet republics before, but never for an operation of this kind.
The crack light infantry division was flying to Uzbekistan from their base at Fort Drum, New York. Their mission would be to provide force protection in Uzbekistan for US military operations, the official said.
US ground forces have been the missing piece in the mobilization of US forces in the region. This will be the first large contingent of ground forces to move into the region since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
US warships and bombers are positioned within striking distance of Afghanistan and US special forces have been deployed to the region.
But except for some 2,200 combat-ready US Marines aboard amphibious assault ships in waters off Pakistan, no large contingents of ground forces had moved until now.
Rumsfeld was to head to the offices of President Islam Karimov for a two-hour meeting on their emerging alliance in the US war against terrorism.
Uzbekistan led the way among the former Soviet republics in Central Asia by offering the US military access to its air space and bases for any possible military action against Afghanistan. The country’s strategic location on Afghanistan’s northern border and its former Soviet bases make it a natural staging area for US forces.
The Uzbeks could also be a valuable source of much-needed intelligence on Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban and the activities of Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network.
IDEAL FOR AFGHANISTAN: The 10th Mountain Division, which is deploying 1,000 troops to Uzbekistan, is a crack light infantry unit of the US army that has exactly the kind of training needed to wage battle under fierce winter conditions in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan.
Based in Ford Drum, New York state, the unit could have two missions in Uzbekistan: to protect US air force operations in this Central Asian country, and to be on full alert for deployment as a rapid reaction force should commando operations in neighbouring Afghanistan go wrong.
The 10th Mountain Division Light Infantry was created in 1941 by General George Marshall, who was then army chief of staff.
Germany, Italy, France and Britain all had such specialized forces, and the US decision to create one was taken after Finnish soldiers on skis annihilated two Soviet tank divisions in November 1939.
Trained in Alaska, in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains and on the peaks of Washington State, the white-clad soldiers rapidly were ready for deployment in the Italian Alps. They contributed to the growing popularity of alpine skiing in the United States after World War II.
But their training is not restricted to mountain infantry missions.
“We are trained to operate in all areas, in all climates,” a Fort Drum spokesman said. “This is a light infantry unit, not an alpine unit,” said Edwin Stouffer.
Soldiers of the 10th have seen action in the most diverse climates: taking part in the Gulf war in 1991 or securing roads for humanitarian operations in Somalia, where they also evacuated special forces rangers surrounded by Somali militias in 1993. The 10th also saw action in Bosnia and in Kosovo.—AFP
