Boucher Says US not Sending Troops to Georgia

(Tbilisi, February 28, Civil Georgia) – “I think various Pentagon spokesmen have already made clear this morning that we have not talked about sending US troops into combat there[in Georgia], and don’t plan on that,” Richard Boucher, Spokesman of US Department of State stated at the news briefing on February 27.

US media sources reported on February 27 that US Special Sources will be send to Georgia to open new front of war on terrorism in Pankisi gorge, Georgia where Al Qaeda and Chechen fighters are harboring.

Boucher said that Georgia and the United States have been working cooperatively over the past several years to enhance the country’s counterterrorism and counterinsurgency capabilities. The US and the Georgian government have enjoyed a strong security assistance relationship for more than five years.

“We are now working on a train-and-equip assistance program for the Georgian Ministry of Defense and other security forces. The program will assist Georgia in developing the capability to control its own borders, and to conduct limited counterinsurgency operations against terrorist elements,” Boucher stated.

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