Editing Uzbekistan (section)

== Military ==
{{Main|Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan}}
[[File:Ukbekistani troops.jpg|thumb|right|Uzbek troops during a cooperative operation exercise]]
With close to 65,000 servicemen, Uzbekistan possesses the largest armed forces in Central Asia. The military structure is largely inherited from the [[Turkestan Military District]] of the [[Soviet Army]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Uzbekistan {{!}} Countries {{!}} Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum|url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/countries/23424980/|access-date=7 July 2021|website=collection.cooperhewitt.org|archive-date=13 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313041638/https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/countries/23424980/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Uzbek Armed Forces' equipment is standard, mostly consisting of post-Soviet inheritance and newly crafted Russian and some American equipment.

The government has accepted the arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union, acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (as a non-nuclear state), and supported an active programme by the U.S. [[Defense Threat Reduction Agency|Defence Threat Reduction Agency]] (DTRA) in western Uzbekistan ([[Nukus]] and [[Vozrozhdeniye Island]]). The Government of Uzbekistan spends about 3.7% of GDP on the military but has received a growing infusion of Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and other security assistance funds since 1998.

Following 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., Uzbekistan approved the [[U.S. Central Command]]'s request for access to an air base, the [[Karshi-Khanabad]] airfield, in southern Uzbekistan. However, Uzbekistan demanded that the U.S. withdraw from the airbases after the [[Andijan massacre]] and the U.S. reaction to this massacre. The last US troops left Uzbekistan in November 2005.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Troops Leave Uzbekistan|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-troops-leave-uzbekistan/|access-date=5 January 2021|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=21 November 2005 |archive-date=30 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140830141914/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-troops-leave-uzbekistan/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, it was revealed that the former US base was contaminated with radioactive materials which may have resulted in unusually high cancer rates in US personnel stationed there. Yet the government of Uzbekistan has denied this statement claiming that there has never been such a case.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Herridge|first1=Catherine|date=26 October 2020|first2=Jessica|last2=Kegu|work=CBS News|title=Uzbek base that housed U.S. troops allegedly had "7 to 9 times higher than normal" radiation, yellowcake uranium|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uzbekistan-k2-karshi-khanabad-base-us-troops-radiation/|access-date=5 January 2021|archive-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026201758/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uzbekistan-k2-karshi-khanabad-base-us-troops-radiation/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 23 June 2006, Uzbekistan became a full participant in the [[Collective Security Treaty Organization]] (CSTO), but informed the CSTO to suspend its membership in June 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=Uzbekistan Suspends CSTO Membership|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-csto-suspends-membership/24629244.html|access-date=5 November 2020|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=28 June 2012 |archive-date=27 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027121322/https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-csto-suspends-membership/24629244.html|url-status=live}}</ref>