U.S. troops land in former Soviet republic to begin training

TBILISI, Georgia -- U.S. troops launched operations Tuesday in the former Soviet republic of Georgia to train local forces in anti-terrorism tactics -- the latest step in the worldwide campaign against terror.

Eighteen Americans arrived overnight in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, the first of 150 special operations forces involved in the deployment. The rest are to arrive in the coming weeks, with training to get under way in May.

The $64 million training program is part of Washington's worldwide campaign against terrorism and is similar to U.S. anti-terrorist training for forces in the Philippines.

U.S. officials fear Muslim fighters holed up in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge -- which borders the breakaway Russian region of Chechnya -- could be linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network.

Georgia had requested help from the United States in battling the insurgents, angering many Russian officials who feared another U.S. deployment into a former Soviet republic. U.S. troops are already stationed in former Soviet Central Asia near Afghanistan.

But on Tuesday, Valery Lastovsky, Russia's military attache in Georgia, told Interfax that Moscow "feels neither apprehension nor jealousy" about the deployment.

The U.S. troops will teach military tactics to Georgian soldiers and officials. A 70-day course will focus on coordinating anti-terror operations and other security services, while a 100-day session will focus on combat tactics for small units of soldiers.