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  Crackdown in Uzbekistan Reopens Longstanding Debate on U.S. Military Aid
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ContributorArmyDem 
Last EditedArmyDem  Jul 13, 2005 01:27am
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CategoryNews
MediaNewspaper - New York Times
News DateWednesday, July 13, 2005 07:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionBy THOM SHANKER and C. J. CHIVERS
Published: July 13, 2005

WASHINGTON, July 12 - The street demonstrations that helped depose the corrupt leadership in post-Soviet Georgia were at a tipping point in 2003 when that country's military commanders decided to sit out the crisis, allowing a bloodless change of power that became known as the Rose Revolution.

Back at the Pentagon, where American officers had nurtured ties with Georgian Defense Ministry officials, the restraint was seen as proving the value of the billions of dollars allocated each year to foster military-to-military relationships around the globe - even with governments that were democratic in name only.

That view marks one side of the debate about the values and dangers of the United States policy of direct aid to foreign military forces and law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Such aid was a point of contention throughout the cold war in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

The debate has been renewed since ministries in Uzbekistan that received American aid were involved in a lethal crackdown on a prison break and demonstration in mid-May. Supporters of the aid contend that the long-term benefits outweigh the risks, as seen in the moderation shown by troops during the Georgian revolution.

"We did some training with their military before the Rose Revolution, and when it came down to the day of the parliamentary elections and the demonstrations, the military said, 'We're not going to put the people down,' " Lt. Gen. Walter L. Sharp, director of strategic plans and policy for the American military's joint staff, said in an interview.
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