U.S. TROOPS TRAIN GEORGIANS AMID TENSION
The Associated Press State & Local Wire
July 21, 2008 Monday 5:56 PM GMT
By DOUGLAS BIRCH and MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI, Associated Press Writers
President Mikhail Saakashvili praised a joint military training
program involving more than 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers at a
former Soviet base Monday, amid heightened tensions with Moscow.
The effort, involving 600 Georgian troops, shows that Georgia has "the
best trained and equipped army" in the strategic Caucasus mountain
region, Saakashvili said in comments broadcast on Georgian television.
While the exercise was planned months ago, it followed sporadic clashes
between Georgians and separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia,
breakaway regions closely tied to Russia. And it comes amid friction
over Georgia’s bid for NATO membership, viewed by Moscow as hostile.
Georgia has about 2,000 troops in Iraq making it the third largest
contributor to coalition forces after the U.S. and Britain but plans
to end the Iraq operation by the end of this year.So far, five Georgian
soldiers have died in the conflict.
Marine Capt. James Haunty, 30, of Columbus, Ohio, commander of Lima
Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, said Friday that he was keeping
an eye on the simmering conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
"I’m not concerned about anything serious happening as long as
there are U.S. troops here in Georgia," Haunty said, shortly before
50-caliber machine gun bullets began peppering a hillside at the
Vaziani training complex, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) east of the
capital. "But we still will monitor the situation."
The U.S. soldiers, Marines and airmen arrived in Tbilisi in mid-July
to teach combat skills to Georgian soldiers, as well as 30 troops
from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. The program, called Exercise
Immediate Response 2008, includes simulated attacks from roadside
bombs and other challenges troops might expect in Iraq, Haunty said.
Lance Cpl. Jonah Salyers, 23, of Columbus, Ohio, a Marine reservist,
said it was his first trip outside of the United States and conceded
that he might not have been able to find the republic of Georgia on
a map.
"I could have found the state, I’ll tell you that," he said Friday.
Pointing to the snowcapped Caucasus mountains to the north, Salyers
said: "Obviously the countryside is absolutely beautiful."
Cpl. Georgi Adaze, 21, who joined Georgia’s 4th Infantry Brigade
seven months ago, said he enjoyed working with the American troops. "I
am ready to serve my country and get military experience," he said,
in an interview closely monitored by two Georgian military officers.
Georgia, which was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries
preceding the breakup of the Soviet Union, has angered Russia by
seeking NATO membership a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western
effort to weaken its influence in the region.
In January, Georgian defense officials began to phase out use of
the Russian-designed Kalashnikov rifle and introduce the American
M-16. Georgian troops were training mostly with American weapons on
two gunnery ranges Friday. Many NATO countries use the M-16.
Georgia’s government also decided earlier this year to increase the
size of its armed forces from about 32,000 to 37,000.
Russia, meanwhile, has strengthened ties in recent months to the two
Georgian separatist regions, which Saakashvili has pledged to bring
back under Tbilisi’s control. No U.N. member state recognizes Abkhazia
or South Ossetia’s claims to sovereignty.
The current round of tensions have led to clashes in recent months
between Georgian authorities and separatists, including a July
9 skirmish on Abkhazia’s de-facto border that injured two Abkhaz
separatist troops and three Georgian policemen.
Russian fighter jets circled over South Ossetia during a visit to
Tbilisi by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice earlier this
month. Later, Georgia threatened to shoot down any Russian planes
that violated its air space.
The same day Immediate Response began, the Russian military announced
that it had launched its own military training exercise in its nearby
North Caucasus region. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry
denied there was any connection between those exercises and the
U.S.-Georgian training effort.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
