WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Susan Collins plans to visit Afghanistan today during what will be a weeklong fact-finding visit to central Asia. Her journey has already found the Maine Republican and a group of eight other senators meeting with officials in both Turkey and Uzbekistan this past weekend.

During a telephone interview from Uzbekistan on Sunday, Collins said she will travel to Tajikistan today and then on to Afghanistan “under cover of night.” She plans to visit with U.S. Special Forces at an Air Force base near Kabul and also meet with the Afghan governing council.

Early Tuesday morning, the senator then plans to travel to Pakistan. There, she and the other U.S. senators she is traveling with will meet with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. The group expects to not only discuss the war on terrorism, but the rising tensions between Pakistan and India.

So far, the group has met with government leaders of both Turkey and Uzbekistan, which are considered key allies in the strategic support of U.S. military action in Afghanistan against the Taliban and the terrorist organization al-Qaida.

“The trip is giving me a new appreciation for the regional politics and alliances in central Asia,” Collins said. “I think there is a legitimate point being made about the United States having ignored the region in the past.”

Leaders in both Turkey and Uzbekistan are “very pleased with the progress of the war and eager to be cooperative,” Collins said, but they are also concerned about stability in the region. They are urging the United States to sustain an active presence in central Asia even once the war is concluded, she said.

“The biggest fear is that the U.S. will abandon the region,” said Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “They urged us to stay involved because without continued American influence, they believe that the same conditions [of the past] will arise again.”

In meetings with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, Collins said the group discussed concerns about rising tensions and possible hostilities with Iraq, which is known to be pursuing the development of biological and chemical weapons.

While the Turkish officials readily concede that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is sponsoring programs to build weapons of mass destruction, Collins said that they advise caution in military action against Iraq because of possible refugee problems and because they fear the establishment of a new governing power led by the Kurds.

“I think this shows how difficult it will be to move to a new phase in the war,” Collins said, adding that Turkey’s support has been “critical” in U.S. efforts in Afghanistan on a number of levels. “Not only because it is a large Muslim nation, but because more than 4,000 flights in the war have originated from there.”