US military will stay in Georgia

[seemslikeadream]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3406941.stm

By Natalia Antelava
In Tbilisi, Georgia


US officials have said that their military presence in Georgia will now become permanent.
The American military has been training and equipping the Georgian army since the spring of 2002.

Having trained three battalions of Georgian soldiers, US military instructors were due to leave in March.

Georgia's new president-elect has set the removal of Russian troops still based in the country as a major priority for his government.

On Saturday the US ambassador to Georgia said they had decided to continue training the Georgian army in a full-time programme.US 'security guarantee'

During the Soviet era, Krtsanisi military base outside Tbilisi was home to the Red Army.


The programme forms part of the US war on terror
Now it is US soldiers who are in charge and, according to the US Ambassador in Tbilisi Richard Miles, they are in Georgia to stay.

[The Magistrate]

1. This Claim, Ma'am, Could Use A Better Source

[seemslikeadream]

2. ok do you want me to delete it?

[The Magistrate]

5. Certainly Not, Ma'am: Merely Looking For Confirmation

[mcctatas]

3. BBC agrees...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3406941.stm
*******************************************************************************************************
In 2002 the Bush administration set up an 18-month, $65m programme aimed at training and equipping Georgia's impoverished army.

The programme was part of America's war on terror and it started after the US confirmed Russian allegations about the presence of Chechen and al-Qaeda fighters in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge, on the border with Chechnya.

Details are still to be announced of the new permanent programme, but analysts say that any sort of US military presence is good news for the Georgian Government, which sees the US engagement as a security guarantee against Georgia's northern neighbour - Russia.
*******************************************************************************************************

[seemslikeadream]

4. Thanks very much mcctatas

I used it

Thanks again

[The Magistrate]

6. Thank You, Ma'am: Much Appreciated

[bahrbearian]

7. A little quick on the draw are we?

[The Magistrate]

10. How So, Sir?

A legitimate story will appear in serious sources, and the best available ought to be the ones cited.

The matter itself is of very small scale, and of little importance. A training mission of no more than company strength is not serious. The Georgian Army can be trained from now till Doomsday and it will remain helpless against Russian forces, vastly superior in number and better equipped to boot.

[bahrbearian]

12. I've never seen a Mod be the 1st one to cry for a Link.

Especially only after 2 min, of the post. Usually thats left to the peanut gallery , your Honor.

[The Magistrate]

13. She Had A Link, Sir, And The Story Interests Me

What happens to be at the top of the Latest listings at a particular moment is a matter of chance....

[bahrbearian]

14. I didn't try to suggest you have any other motive, your honor.

[bahrbearian]

8. Chimmpy loves cannon fodder.

[Monk06]

9. So much for the anti Iran missile shield argument. The fig leaf is off that bit of fiction.

[The Magistrate]

11. It Always Was A Pretty Thin Fig Leaf, Sir

[Ghost Dog]

15. Yes indeed. But they will continue to spin with it,

I fear.

[irish.lambchop]

16. Interesting because I just watched Sky News

(murdoch's U.K. Fox News) and the idiot reporting from Georgia said he'd not seen any evidence of U.S. military in the area - not one insignia, not one weapon, not one little thing. This was in response to Russia claiming that they'd found a depot of U.S. weapons in Georgia. Sky - just like Fox but with an accent.

[Igel]

17. I saw a picture of a Russian soldier holding a "US weapon."

Now, whether that was a US-made weapon bought by Georgia, a US-made weapon given to Georgia, or a US-made weapon in Georgia's possession after joint exercises last month, nobody could say.

[KharmaTrain]

18. And We're Gonna Back This Up How????

Maybe the Georgians are learning the hard way how neo-con talk is cheap...well, except for the 900k Shikavilli paid Randy Schuenmann.

And how is Putin reacting? I guess most missed this tidbit a week ago...

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/story/628702.html

MOSCOW -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is calling for Russia to regain its influential position in former Cold War ally Cuba, Russian news reports said Monday.

The statement comes amid persistent speculation about whether Russia is seeking a military presence in a country just 90 miles from the United States in response to U.S. plans to place missile-defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic.

''We should restore our position in Cuba and other countries,'' Putin was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Putin spoke Monday while hearing a report on a recent Russian delegation's trip to Cuba. Vice Premier Igor Sechin and others met with the Cuban leadership and discussed an array of cooperation projects.

''We agreed on the priority for the direction of cooperation

He issues this statement and a few days later, the Georgians attack? Are these shits trying to create a new October crisis to help Gramps...sure smells like it...and why do I get a feeling Putin is in on this game as well???