WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush has defended United States military plans to train and equip forces in the former Soviet republic of Georgia to help it expel guerrillas with ties to al Qaeda.
However, he said, any final plan to send up to 200 Army Special Forces troops to train Georgian forces would have to be approved by Washington and Tbilisi.
The proposal, revealed by US officials on Wednesday, drew a quick protest from Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who said any American troops in neighbouring Georgia would only increase tensions in the region.
Asked by reporters if he thought guerrillas in the rugged Pankisi Gorge region of Georgia were influenced by fugitive Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network of Islamic extremists, Bush said: "I do."
He added: "As long as there is al Qaeda influence anywhere we will help the host countries rout' em out and bring 'em to justice."
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has spoken to Ivanov to try to allay Moscow's concerns.
Sending trainers to Georgia based on a request for help from President Eduard Shevardnadze could effectively open a new front for Washington in the global war on terrorism sparked by the September 11 attacks on America.
In some places, such as the Philippines, US forces are taking a more direct role in helping combat terrorists by advising Filipino troops on ways to defeat the Abu Sayeff terrorists on Basilan Island.
In Afghanistan, American troops have done some of the fighting themselves.
Some nations, including Georgia, limit cooperation to accepting American training and equipment.
In other instances, US military involvement in anti-terror efforts is not explicitly related to al Qaeda or other terrorist organisations whose global reach directly threatens the United States.
America has given machine-guns, helicopters and military advisers to Colombia, for example, in its fight against anti-government terrorists, though there is no known al Qaeda presence there.
The Bush Administration has never detailed an exhaustive list of the countries it believes have links to al Qaeda or other terrorist networks, but they include Yemen, Sudan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran and Iraq.
The US blames al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, for the September 11 terrorist attacks. Bush has said from the start of the US-led military campaign that the terrorist problem is not limited to one country, although Afghanistan was al Qaeda's home base.
Marine Corps General Peter Pace, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that al Qaeda had a presence in more than 50 countries.
He would not explicitly include Georgia on that list, but other officials said there are growing indications of al Qaeda links there.
As the Georgia case illustrates, the degree and manner of US military involvement will depend on many factors, including regional political sensitivities.
Georgia, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, has Russia to worry about. Russia considers the Caucasus region to be its own sphere of influence and it resents US intrusion.
Some officials have said al Qaeda-linked militants - including several dozen who had been in Afghanistan - are operating in the Pankisi Gorge near Georgia's border with Russia's breakaway republic of Chechnya.
Pace said the Pentagon's intentions in Georgia are not strictly a counter-terrorism campaign. Rather, he said, the goal is to help Georgia gain sufficient military strength to defend itself - a circumstance that would make it more secure and less likely to attract terrorist groups in the future.
"Every place we have military members working with foreign Governments, of course, the global war on terrorism and the local security environment do go hand-in-hand," Pace said.
Yemen may be a similar case. The government there has pledged to help fight global terrorism, and although it has not asked for US combat troops, it is interested in receiving military training and aid.
It wants to create a maritime force to guard its 2400km Arabian Peninsula coastline.
General Tommy Franks, commander of US forces in the Middle East, told a House panel yesterday that he expected to recommend that the US military help train Yemeni forces to pursue al Qaeda and other terrorists.
At least two al Qaeda suspects wanted by the US are believed to be hiding in Yemen.
In October 2000, terrorists attacked the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden, killing 17 sailors.
Indonesia is another complicated case. US officials believe al Qaeda cells may be operating there, and Washington has offered financial aid to train Indonesian police.
The Bush Administration wants to resume military assistance to Indonesia but is inhibited by a congressional ban imposed after the Indonesian Army devastated East Timor in 1999.
Some Democrats believe Bush may be overreaching.
The Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, Robert Byrd, noted the expanding US military role.
He said: "If we expect to kill every terrorist in the world, that's going to keep us going beyond Doomsday."
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Links: War against terrorism
Timeline: Major events since the Sept 11 attacks
US ready to move into Georgia
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