Reuters
November 2
.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will visit Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and India for talks
on the war on terrorism in a whirlwind four-day trip beginning on Friday, the Pentagon said.
Rumsfeld said earlier that he would make a quick visit to Moscow this weekend for talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on the war in Afghanistan and warming U.S.-Russian ties, but he did not say what other states he would visit before returning to Washington on Monday.
The Pentagon announced Rumsfeld would depart at midday on Friday and arrive in Moscow early on Saturday before flying to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and India in that order.
In each country, he was expected to meet with government leaders to discuss their support for the ongoing U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan against the country's ruling Taliban and the al Qaeda guerrilla network of fugitive Osama bin Laden, accused by Washington of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks on America.
It will be Rumsfeld's second visit to Uzbekistan within a month.