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By Gregory Feifer Staff Writer

U.S. May Send Troops to Georgia

The Moscow Times, February 28, 2002

In what would amount to opening a new front in its war on terrorism, the United States is considering sending 100 to 200 U.S. special operations soldiers to Georgia, adding to the U.S. helicopters and handful of advisers already in Tbilisi to help the Georgian military combat terrorists in the lawless Pankisi Gorge. Citing senior military officials, The New York Times on Wednesday reported that the Joint Chiefs of Staff is close to approving the mission, in which U.S. forces would train the Georgian military but would not be allowed to take part in combat operations except in self-defense. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer later confirmed the report. U.S. officials have said they believe al-Qaida members and other Islamic extremists could be hiding in the gorge, along with rebels from Chechnya. Lieutenant Colonel Ed Loomis, spokesman for the U.S. military's European Command near Stuttgart, Germany, said the United States sent 10 UH-1H Huey helicopters to Tbilisi in November, along with a military trainer and six civilian contractors to train Georgian personnel. About 40 U.S. military personnel, including special operations troops, visited Georgia this month to assess Georgia's security needs, he said. In Tbilisi, officials confirmed the presence of five U.S. advisers and said they were there to help Georgia set up "an anti-terrorist subdivision" for operations in the Pankisi Gorge, a hotbed of crime that has long eluded the government's attempts to bring it under control. "At this stage, there is no question of holding a joint anti-terrorist operation of any kind," said Mirian Kiknadze, a spokesman for the Georgian Defense Ministry, Reuters reported. Russian reactions were mixed. Officials on the whole reacted cautiously to the reports, saying Moscow would need to be consulted about any joint operations in the Pankisi Gorge -- north of Tbilisi and close to Georgia's border with Chechnya -- but generally did not object to U.S. forces on Georgian soil.

A senior U.S. diplomat in Moscow said Washington had included Moscow in its talks with Tbilisi over training and equipping Georgian military forces. He added that the initiative has been on the table for months and that the Russian media have overdramatized the situation. "I don't think this will affect [President Vladimir] Putin's calculations," he said. "This is not about sending [U.S.] troops to Georgia," he said. "It's about training the Georgians to better control their territory and reduce the objectionable activities going on in the Pankisi Gorge." The diplomat also said that sending U.S. troops to Georgia would help shore up Georgia's sovereignty and help diffuse tensions between Georgia and Russia. "When Russia talks about 'losing Georgia,' we have to say that it's not theirs to lose in the first place." Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov was in St. Petersburg for a meeting of CIS defense ministers. Both Ivanov and his Georgian counterpart said they had learned about the U.S. plan from the news. Later in the day, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said in televised statements that the planned deployment would aggravate the situation in the Caucasus. "That is our position and Washington is well aware of it," he added. Instead, he reiterated Russia's offers to help Georgia deal with terrorism. Putin, who met with his Security Council on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Chechnya, made no public comments on the subject Wednesday. But Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov said the presence of U.S. military advisers in Georgia would not harm Russian interests. "It's Georgia's sovereign right to make those or other decisions on its own territory," Interfax quoted him as saying. Another Federation Council member, Valery Manilov, a former army spokesman and first deputy chief of the General Staff, said, "The participation of these [U.S.] advisers will help neutralize terrorists on Georgian territory," Interfax reported. Federation Council member Mikhail Margelov, who heads the upper house's committee on international affairs, said if the United States had decided to send military experts to Georgia, it must be sure of the presence of terrorists there, Interfax reported. But he added that no troops could be sent to Tbilisi without the approval of the Georgian parliament or agreement from Moscow. Reactions from the State Duma were less accommodating. Interfax reported Deputy Alexander Gurov, head of the security committee, as saying that the arrival of U.S. forces in Georgia might be seen as an "unfriendly" move by Tbilisi. Union of Right Forces leader Boris Nemtsov accused Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze on Wednesday of conducting an "absolutely crazy policy by orienting himself to the United States," Interfax reported. Moscow's response to reports that U.S. forces may soon be sent to Georgia reflect conflicting issues. While officials welcome the fight against Chechen rebels in Georgia, many are wary of the increasing U.S. presence in the Caucasus. Alexei Arbatov, deputy head of the Duma's defense committee and a member of the liberal Yabloko party, said Washington must consult with Moscow on possible troop deployments in Georgia if it wants Russia's continued cooperation in the war against terrorism. But he said Russia was in no position to object. In the Caucasus, as in Central Asia, Russia is facing a choice, Arbatov said: "Either Islamic terrorists operate there freely, or an American political and military presence begins building up. "Since Russia today is unable, unfortunately, to liquidate hotbeds of terrorism on its own, there is no other choice," Interfax quoted him as saying. State-controlled ORT television led its evening newscast with a sensational claim about an agreement between Moscow and Washington under which the United States would allow Russia to control the situations in Georgia's separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in exchange for acceptance of a U.S. presence in the Pankisi Gorge. The report cited unidentified sources in Tbilisi and Washington. Washington and Moscow have jostled over influence in Georgia during the last decade. Moscow sees the former Soviet republic as part of its sphere of influence, while Washington has sought to buffer Russia's reach by supporting Tbilisi with financial aid and military cooperation. Alexei Malashenko, a Caucasus specialist at the Moscow Carnegie Center, said sending U.S. troops to Georgia would boost Shevardnadze's political position. "It shows the United States didn't dump him," he said. But he added that the move is also a humiliation for Tbilisi. "It's a catastrophic situation," Malashenko said. "You can't talk about Georgian sovereignty if the government can't deal with a situation involving several thousand people on its territory." Malashenko said that sending U.S. forces to Georgia would not be a threat to Russia. "Georgia and Russia couldn't come to terms because of mutual distrust and other reasons," he said. Moscow has long maintained that rebels are hiding among the thousands of Chechen refugees in the Pankisi Gorge, which the Kremlin says is used as a staging area for attacks inside Chechnya. Tbilisi for years shrugged off Russia's claims as an attempt by the Kremlin to exert control over its southern neighbor. But following the lead of the United States, Georgia has begun to back Russia on this issue. Russia and Georgia also have moved closer on another issue concerning the Pankisi Gorge. The Foreign Ministry this month said Russia would not object to Chechen refugees who refuse to go home staying in the gorge. Georgia meanwhile said it would provide Russia with information about the refugees. Staff Writer Andrei Zolotov Jr. contributed to this report.

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Anti-Terror Coalition

The Moscow Times, February 28, 2002

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