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US May Send Troops To Former Soviet Republic Of Georgia VOA News 27 Feb 2002 01:38 UTC 
U.S. Defense Department officials say the United States is considering sending soldiers to the former Soviet republic of Georgia to help train the country's troops in the fight against terrorism.
Officials said Tuesday the U.S. forces would not be involved in combat, but would have a mission similar to that of the U.S. forces in the Philippines. Authorities did not indicate when the Georgian mission could begin.
Some 660 U.S. troops are in the Philippines to train army forces fighting the Abu Sayyaf, a guerrilla group linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network.
Some officials say fighters associated with al-Qaida could be in Georgia. Russian officials also say Chechen separatists are hiding in Georgia's northeastern Pankisi gorge.
Russian authorities say the rebels cross back and forth between the Pankisi gorge and Russia's breakaway republic of Chechnya. Georgian officials have rejected Russian calls for a joint military operation against the rebels.
Georgian officials say if a military operation becomes necessary, they may ask for Western help to flush out the regional organized crime gangs and militants.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.
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