*EPF402 05/30/2002
Defense Department Report, May 30: India/Pakistan, Georgia
(Rumsfeld/travel; U.S.-Georgian military training) (720)

RUMSFELD WILL TRAVEL TO SOUTH ASIA AND EUROPE

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said he has not yet decided exactly when he will travel to India and Pakistan, but the trip will take place in conjunction with his planned trip to NATO for the June 6-7 defense ministerial meeting.

During a May 30 Pentagon press briefing he said there are numerous issues that concern those two nations and the United States, and he would be discussing all of them during his visit to South Asia.

When asked if he thought India and Pakistan appreciate the gravity of the situation posed by the tensions between them, Rumsfeld replied, "I'll know a lot more about the answer when I complete my visits." Regarding the current situation between the two countries, he acknowledged the importance of having each of them working from "the same set of facts" in understanding the devastation that another India-Pakistan war might unleash. He also acknowledged that the subject of a possible future war in South Asia is "sensitive."

Rumsfeld was asked if his trip had the political purpose of trying to persuade India and Pakistan to back away from their substantial disagreements. "There's no question but that I would not be going on this visit if we were not concerned about the situation between the two countries," he said.

The secretary said that when two countries not talking to each other directly possess considerable conventional forces and nuclear power, it is in their national security interest to recognize how many millions of people would be affected by another war. Wars "can escalate in unpredictable ways," he said.

U.S.-GEORGIAN TRAINING PROGRAM AIMS AT ACHIEVING INTEROPERABILITY

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon May 30 via telephone from the Georgian capital of Tblisi, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Waltemeyer said a new 21-month U.S. military training program is designed to teach Georgian students about U.S. military doctrine, provide them with communications equipment that will be interoperable with U.S. gear, and create standard military operating procedures.

Waltemeyer, who is commander of the Georgia Train and Equip Program (GTEP), said training began on May 27. Some 70 U.S. military trainers from the U.S. Special Operations Command in Europe are providing the military training now, and that number will climb to around 150 later in the summer. "We are already starting to see the success of our goals in terms of interoperability between the various ministries here in the first week of training," he said.

Classes for about 120 students daily are conducted in English and Georgian. He said the students have expressed interest in the interface between the civilian leadership at the Defense Department and the military leadership represented by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Waltemeyer also said they are interested in learning about the U.S. defense budget process and "how we apportion money to our various forces."

Ultimately, the $64 million program will train four 400-member battalions of special forces, commandos, mountain fighters and light infantry soldiers. They will receive equipment including small arms and ammunition, boots, helmets and field gear from the United States.

Training is being provided to representatives from the ministries of Defense, State Security, and Internal Defense as well as the State Special Police Service and the Georgian border guards. Among other tasks, the GTEP program will establish a National Military Command Center for Georgia. The curriculum also includes human rights education.

While U.S. forces will not be going into the Pankisi Gorge, Waltemeyer said tactical training would emphasize counter-insurgency skills. "We're here to help the Georgian Armed Forces improve their ability to maintain stability and sovereignty in this region," he said, "which would obviously deny safe haven to any type of terrorist organizations that would seek haven or transit through this region." The Georgians consider themselves part of the anti-terrorism coalition, he added, and want to preclude any lawlessness or insurgency "that might contribute to the impression that they'd have difficulty in defending their own territory from that."

GTEP arose from a request by Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze to President Bush in October 2001. A U.S.-European fact sheet on the program says the two presidents "pledged to work closely together as partners to ensure a more secure Georgia."

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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