DEVELOPING STORY: US Finishes Redeploying Georgian Troops from Iraq; US Troops in Georgia

News in Balance:

Small U.S. Contingent Remains in Georgia After Redeployment

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2008 -- The United States has redeployed some 2,000 Georgian troops from Iraq to their home country, where a contingent of fewer than 100 American military personnel remain, a Defense Department spokesman said today.

Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman said the United States, meanwhile, is prepared to provide humanitarian aid to Georgia, where clashes with Russia broke out last week in the breakaway region of South Ossetia in the former Soviet republic and escalated over following days. No humanitarian missions currently are under way, he added.

American C-17s began shuttling the brigade of Georgian forces Aug. 10 and completed the redeployment yesterday, Whitman said. The U.S.-provided transport adhered to an agreement that U.S. and Georgian government officials arranged before Russian tanks and troops crossed Georgia’s border on Aug. 8.

“We are fulfilling our agreement with the Georgian government that in an emergency we would assist them in redeploying their troops,” Whitman said yesterday. “We are honoring that commitment, and we are following through with that.”

A contingent of fewer than 100 U.S. military personnel remains in Georgia, the Pentagon spokesman told reporters today. Some American personnel left yesterday, but the forces currently there are safe and accounted for, he added.

“They are not involved in the conflict,” he said, “but they are remaining there for now.”

This is a developing story.

More coverage to follow.

(Story by John J. Kruzel, American Forces Press Service.)

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