Officials Open to Idea of Permanent U.S. Base
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Uzbekistan will let the U.S. keep military forces in the nation as long as needed for operations in Afghanistan and will consider a permanent U.S. outpost if Washington wants one, the foreign minister said.
Speaking before Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld visits Tuesday, Sadyk Safayev also said Uzbekistan was improving its much-criticized human rights record. He said two people convicted in recent cases might soon receive amnesty.
A base in the southern Uzbek town of Khanabad has been a key staging point for American operations in Afghanistan, and U.S. troops are stationed there.
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