The U.S. has quietly engaged in talks with two Asian countries bordering Afghanistan to officially transfer aircraft left behind in the U.S. withdrawal in exchange for help with counterterrorism efforts, Politico reported Monday.
Afghan air force pilots evacuated 46 U.S.-donated military aircraft into Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as they fled the Taliban onslaught in summer of 2021, according to Politico. The Taliban claim they rightfully captured the aircraft and are demanding their return, but the U.S. hopes Tajik and Uzbek leaders temporarily harboring the equipment will agree to provide U.S. intelligence with eyes into Afghanistan if they can keep the aircraft.
“If I give you an airplane, then I call you and say, ‘Hey, can you tell that guy who has a cousin in Afghanistan to go look at something’ — that might be the nature of the relationship,” a senior Department of Defense official told Politico, explaining the rationale for the talks. “That’s a hypothetical.”
Negotiations have proceeded under the radar due to the close relationships Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have with Russia, Politico reported. While Uzbekistan hosted U.S. troops from 2001 to 2005 for Afghanistan operations, pressure from the Kremlin forced Uzbek leaders to cancel the arrangement.
The U.S. seeks to “deepen our security relationships” with the Tajik and Uzbek government on border security and terrorism issues as a favor for allowing the countries to keep the aircraft, the senior DOD official and a congressional aide directly familiar with the proceedings told Politico.
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan border the Taliban-controlled country and could assist the U.S. in several ways, including sharing intelligence on terrorist networks in Afghanistan and stationing U.S. troops and strike capabilities, Politico reported.
DOD spokesperson Lt. Col. Rob Lodewick denied that the U.S. sought “any basing or permanent presence of U.S. military forces in Central Asia for any purpose,” Politico reported.
President Biden touted the U.S. military’s “over-the-horizon” capabilities to target ISIS and Al-Qaida terrorists in Afghanistan, saying they made a physical U.S. presence in the country unnecessary. However, the Biden administration has so far only conducted one counterterrorism strike — against Al-Qaida leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri — in the 13 months since the U.S. military lost boots-on-the-ground presence in the Central Asian nation.
The U.S. military has bases scattered throughout the Middle East. U.S. officials were nearing an agreement with the government of Pakistan to use the airspace for launching attacks on Afghan targets as of October 2021, CNN reported.
Tajik and Uzbek leaders are “certainly very interested” in keeping those aircraft, the senior DOD official added.
The U.S. plans to conduct a flyability assessment of the aircraft in question, Politico reported, including C-208 utility aircraft, A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft, as well as Mi-17, Mi-25 and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, according to satellite imagery analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The White House and the Department of Defense did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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