General Says U.S. Not In Central Asia To Show Power

"The presence of the United States' armed forces in this region is not, in any way, for domination or for what I would call 18th-century power politics," Abizaid said. "We have a sincere desire to be in the region to attack the problems of terrorism, the narcotics trade, and corruption because these are problems that are international, not the problems of a single state."

Abizaid spoke today in Astana after talks with Defense Minister Mukhtar Altynbaev.

He reiterated that Washington has no intention of establishing a military base in Kazakhstan unless a tense situation emerges in Central Asia and the Kazakh government requests the U.S. military to do so.

He also praised Kazakhstan's efforts to reform its military

(with Interfax/AFP/ITAR-TASS)