U.S to bribe smaller partner nations in Afghanistan to keep them from bailing

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AP Exclusive: US aid going to Afghanistan partners

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is pouring millions of dollars into equipment and training for its smaller partner nations in the Afghanistan war, a new effort that could encourage some countries not to abandon the increasingly unpopular conflict.

The money comes from a $350 million Pentagon program designed to improve the counterterrorism operations of U.S. allies.

While the funding cannot be openly used as an enticement for NATO nations to either send troops to Afghanistan or keep them in the country, the budding initiative sends the message that those who commit to the counterinsurgency fight could be rewarded.

Defense officials tell The Associated Press that the initial aid package aimed at six small countries - Georgia, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - is about $50 million and will be distributed almost equally among them. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not been announced.

___"It's not bribery," said Rick Nelson, a counterterrorism expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "But at end of the day, we're asking these allies to join us and we want them to be valuable partners. And some lack the resources to be partners in ways we need them to do so."


read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/04/01/1250368/ap-exclusive-us-aid-going-to-afghanistan.html