GEORGIA IN US-FINANCED ARMS RACE FOR WAR ON ABKHAZIA, SOUTH OSSETIA
By Jason Cooper
Tiraspol Times frontpage
11/Nov/2007
Georgia is preparing for a US-financed war against Abkhazia
and South Ossetia. That is what the country’s military build-up
reveals, according to a leading journalist and political analyst
from Geneva. Since the current regime took power, Georgian military
spending has effectively increased by over forty times.
Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, is the top takeover-target
of Georgia’s military plansTSKHINVALI (Tiraspol Times) – Fears run
high in Tskhinvali these days. The capital of the small Republic of
South Ossetia is increasingly seen as the next target of Georgian
military aggression, and many here worry that it is only a matter of
time before enemy troops unleash an assault on the city.
Some international analysts agree. Vicken Cheterian, a journalist and
political analyst who works for the non-profit governance organization
CIMERA, based in Geneva, says that "Georgia’s military plans reveal
its ambition to reclaim the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
it lost in the wars of the early 1990s."
The journalist, who is a regular contributor to Le Monde Diplomatique,
points out that since the "rose revolution" of 2003-04, Georgian
military spending has effectively been increased by over forty
times. The majority of Georgia’s arms purchases are financed directly
or indirectly from Washington. Salaries for Georgian soldiers have
also repeatedly been paid for by American taxpayers.
Vicken Cheterian, a journalist and political analysts who works
for Geneva’s Cimera group, warns that Georgia’s 40-fold increase in
military spending is targeted against Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
" – According to the official goal of joining NATO, Georgia needs to
modernize its army, train its soldiers, and build facilities for them,"
he writes in an article entitled Georgia’s arms race. "But observers
in Tbilisi point that out patterns of spending suggest that Georgia
has other projects apart from its NATO ambitions."
U.S. money behind Georgian arms build-up According to Cheterian, the
Georgian defence ministry announced in early May 2007 that it will
sharply increase its current defence budget, from 513 to 957 million
lari ($304m to $567m). This escalation follows an already impressive
rise in defense spending since the "Rose revolution." This means that
since the arrival to power of Mikheil Saakashvili, defence spending
has continued on an upward spiral.
The arms build-up is financed by the United States, he writes in
the article which was published by OpenDemocracy. The money started
flowing in 2002 when an eighteen-month "train and equip" program with
a total budget of $64 million was started to modernize four infantry
battalions and one mechanized company.
" – The army also received significant training assistance as well
as equipment from the United States military," he notes. "Georgia
also received valuable equipment, such as ten UH-1 transportation
helicopters from the US government. The value of the US military
cooperation with the Georgian armed forces in 2007 is estimated at $34
million. As a result, some 16,000 troops are now considered trained
by the US military."
Most of the military build-up is concentrated against Abkhazia and
South Ossetia. A modern, NATO-compatible barracks has just been built
in Senaki in western Georgia not far from Abkhazia, and another one
is under construction near Gori, a half-hour driving distance from
Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. According to the report,
each of these bases will have the capacity to house a brigade, with
a troop-strength of 3,000.
Peace in peril Georgia’s military plans have caused alarm among
diplomats and others in the international community who prefer a
peaceful coexistence of the various ethnic groups who inhabit the
Caucasus region.
" – The fact that the two new barracks are close to the conflict-zones
of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has led to concerns among both the
de-facto governments of those two regions and the international
community that seeks a peaceful resolution to these conflicts,"
explains Vicken Cheterian.
He also writes that there has been a continuous decrease of Russia’s
military presence parallel to the US-Georgian military cooperation.
" – The Russian military is continuing to empty its former Soviet
base in Akhalkalaki, transporting equipment and ammunition into its
base in Gumri, in northern Armenia. Akhalkalaki base is expected to
be emptied by the end of the year, while the Russian base in Batumi
the next year," he notes.
"After this period the Russian presence will be limited to the CIS
peacekeeping missions in South Ossetia and Abkhazia."
" – Moscow is increasingly displeased to see the NATO and specifically
US military presence becoming permanent in what once was part of its
southern Soviet provinces."
In what some see as a quid pro quo arrangement, Georgia now uses its
military to assist the United States in unpopular wars. In return
for this favor, the United States continues to oppose the right of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia to independence.
" – The recent announcement in Tbilisi to increase Georgian military
participation in Iraq from 850 to 2,000 comes at a time when most
European nations have already started withdrawing their troops, and
the Bush administration is under political pressure in Washington
to come up with its own schedule to decrease troops," explains
Cheterian. He also points out that another 150 Georgian military serve
in Kosovo. This is an area where NATO-led troops keep Serbia out,
and where the United States State Department is actively pushing for
the right of self-determination to override the territorial integrity
of a metropolitan state, Serbia.