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Georgian Defense Minister visits Washington, seeks to strengthen US-Georgian security ties
By: Various on: 24.06.2005 [11:25 ] (1464 reads)
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Okruashvili described the purpose of his trip as three-fold: "Getting NATO support; Getting the support of the United States in order to convince the Russians to sit down around the negotiating table to solve the problems of Abkhazia and South Ossetia; and to continue military programs."
An 850-strong Georgian troop contingent currently serves in Iraq – marking the largest contribution of personnel, in per capita terms, made by any single country in the American-led coalition.
Okruashvili added that a controversial Army Development Foundation, through which anonymous businessmen subsidized Georgia’s military budget, would be discontinued...
Georgia is continuing to make purchases from Ukraine, including an air defense system.
For a country that is slightly smaller than South Carolina, with only 4.6 million citizens, Georgia receives a staggering amount of military support from the United States.
In 1997 Georgia received its first FMF grant of $700,000. In 1998, Washington increased FMF more than 7 times over, granting $5.3 million in aid. Since those first years, Georgia has received a total of $107.7 million in FMF grants. The Bush administration requested an additional $12 million in the 2006 budget.
Additionally, Georgia has been a recipient of International Military Education and Training funds since 1994. Between 1996 and 2001, the IMET aid hovered around $300,000 to just over $400,000 per year. And then, in 2002 the funding almost doubled to $889,000. In 2003, the funding increased another 33% to $1.2 million—similar amounts were granted in 2004 and 2005. The Congressional request for $1.2 million in FY 2006 represents an almost 2,000% increase in IMET aid since 1996.
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