there are signs of liberalization, Uzbekistan's emphasis remains fixed on security. Thus, Uzbekistan must continue to undergo significant reform to fit the United States definition of democracy. This mixed record and slow progress of human rights improvement is best exemplified in its actions in October 2017: when it freed 5 long-held political prisoners but that same month also arbitrarily detained an author and journalist. Military relations Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Uzbekistan approved of the U.S. Central Command's request for access to an air base, the Karshi-Khanabad airfield, in southern Uzbekistan, to station 1,500 of its armed forces, in exchange for security guarantees and assistance with its own internal terrorism. Despite his human rights record, Uzbek President Islam Karimov condemned Saddam Hussein and supported the controversial Iraq War, and continued allowing the U.S. to place troops on the ground as well as use the Uzbek airbase, K2, for support activities and for deployment and command and control of Special Forces into all of Afghanistan except for the Khandahar region. However, Uzbekistan demanded that the U.S. withdraw from the airbases after the 2005 Andijan Unrest and the critical U.S. reaction to the incident. Following year Uzbekistan formally joined the Collective Security Treaty Organization. In 2012, Uzbekistan opted to formally withdraw from the Russian-led CSTO alliance, leading some to debate whether such a move indicated a shift in its foreign policy to the West, possibly influenced by its increasingly vital strategic position in Central Asia and NATO's impending future withdrawal from neighboring Afghanistan. However, Uzbekistan remains a part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, of which both Russia and China are part of, and of which it is the only non-founding member. Diplomatic visits U.S. Secretary of State James Addison Baker visited Tashkent and Samarkand on February 16, 1992 and met with Uzbekistan's main opposition party, Birlik, a year after the country's independence from the Soviet Union. In April 2000, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Uzbekistan to meet with President Karimov, where they discussed the distinction between Muslim terrorists and peaceful Muslims. In December 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Uzbekistan to witness the reopening of the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge. During his visit, Secretary Powell also met with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov and President Karimov to discuss the security of Central Asia. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Uzbekistan twice in her tenure, in December 2010