WP: Bush Plans Aid to Build Foreign Peace Forces

[kskiska]

Monday, April 19, 2004; Page A01

Facing a chronic shortage of foreign troops for peacekeeping missions, President Bush has decided to launch an international drive to boost the supply of available forces -- a move that if successful could relieve some of the pressure on U.S. soldiers to join such operations, defense officials said.

A plan approved by Bush earlier this month calls for the United States to commit about $660 million over the next five years to train, equip and provide logistical support to forces in nations willing to participate in peace operations.

The campaign, known as the Global Peace Operations Initiative, will be aimed largely at Africa by expanding the peacekeeping skills of African forces and encouraging international military exercises in the region, where U.S. officials said much of the need exists.

But African forces developed under the program could be used in peace operations anywhere in the world, officials said. And the program also sets aside some assistance for armies in Asia, Latin America and Europe to enlarge their peacekeeping roles as well.

Pentagon officials who briefed The Washington Post stressed that the plan, which Bush has yet to formally announce, is not meant as a unilateral U.S. effort. They said Bush intends it to be a broad, multinational push, with other countries contributing trainers and additional resources, although consultations with potential partner nations remain at an early stage.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22637-2004Apr18.html

[wtmusic]

1. Hiring foreign mercenaries

Isn't that a, er, simpler way to say it?

[asjr]

2. Danger! Danger!

Bush says he has a plan!

[proud patriot]

3. bush is insane

please lord I pray to you to get this bushlunatic out
of power ASAP ...

[alittlelark]

4. Bush * is insane

he fiddles while the fuse burns.

Tommorrow I, and 3 friends will e-mail every media source on our list.
Our kids play together anyway, and 2 of the hubbies are out of town. There will be anger, mirth and red wine.

[NNN0LHI]

5. Wonder if they will turn out like the 200,000 Iraq force we armed & trained

I guess they will be shooting at us before long too. You think these idiots would have learned their lesson after arming and training bin Laden? Guess not.

Don

[legin]

6. Lucky old South African Apartheid goons

They probably thought they were in the dust bin of history, now they are going to get nice and rich selling their questionable expertise.

[legin]

8. Errr... a lot more of them are, that should be. n/t

[legin]

12. Actually thinking about it

$660m over 5 years doesn't buy many mercenaries. They want 75,000 peacekeepers which works out as under $10,000 per man over 5 years.

Another thought is that the UN not the u.s. should be finding this money, because the peacekeepers will in some cases be attached to the UN but the u.s. will be controlling the purse strings, not a good position for the UN to be in.

[ConcernedCanuk]

7. Someone tell Junior there's an organization that is designed for that

.
.
.

It's called the United Nations.

And despite the BFEE's attempts to emasculate the UN,

The UN has and deserves alot more trust and respect than the USA does!

an how about these stats

150 BILLION for war (so far)

and approx 150 MILLION (annually) for peace.

You do the math

which does Georgie boy like better?

No surprise here.

[starroute]

9. Anyone reminded of the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD?

"There is no simple explanation for the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, but several interconnected elements provide some answers. The demands of the military and the growing bureaucracy forced the government to seek more income. When the elite avoided taxes, the burden fell on the peasantry, who had barely enough to feed themselves and no surplus to pay taxes. When farmers fled the land, incomes declined still further and manpower shortages forced the military to hire German mercenaries. This cycle led to a weak, impoverished central government that quietly collapsed in 476."

http://www.crystalinks.com/romanempire7.html


"After Attila's death, Orestes joined the service of the western empire and quickly achieved senior position. In AD 474 emperor Julius Nepos made him 'Master of Soldiers' and raised him to the rank of patrician.

"In this elevated position Orestes enjoyed far greater support by the troops than the emperor himself. For by now almost the entire garrison of Italy consisted of German mercenaries. They felt very little allegiance to the empire at all. If they had any allegiance then it was to their fellow German 'Master of Soldiers'. For Orestes was half German, half Roman. Seeing his chance, Orestes launched a coup d'état and marched his troops on Ravenna, the seat of the emperor. Julius Nepos fled in August AD 475, leaving Italy to Orestes.

<snip>

"Orestes had at first made promises of such land grants to the German soldiery if they would help him depose Julius Nepos. But once this had been done he had chosen to forget such concessions. But the German troops were not willing to let the issue be forgotten and demanded 'their' third of the land. The man who led their protest was one of Orestes' own senior officers, Flavius Odoacer (Odovacar).

Faced with such a wide scale mutiny, Orestes withdrew behind the well fortified walls of the city of Ticinum (Pavia). But the mutiny was not to be a short lived affair. Ticinum was besieged, captured and sacked. Orestes was taken to Placentia (Piacenza) where he was executed in August AD 476."

http://www.roman-empire.net/collapse/romulus.html

[Whoa_Nelly]

10. That $660 m needs to go to

a national health care program.

[truthisfreedom]

11. "bush plans bribes..."

heh.