Rice heads to Georgia as Bush promises aid effort

WASHINGTON – President Bush on Wednesday escalated the American response to the Russian military action in Georgia, ordering a humanitarian aid effort and dispatching Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the stricken region as Pentagon officials announced plans to rebuild the Georgian military.

In his Rose Garden remarks, Bush accused Russia of seizing territory within Georgia and continuing its military campaign despite a promise to observe a cease-fire.

The new words and actions from the White House came after sharp criticism from conservatives, including some in Georgia and the Bush administration, that his original response was ineffectual.

“The United States of America stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia,” Bush said. “We insist that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected.”

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday said he would accept a Russian cease-fire agreement to end the fighting. The agreement, backed by France and the European Union, included a call for Georgia to return its troops to the positions held before hostilities broke out last week when Georgia defied Russia by launching an attack in South Ossetia.

On Wednesday, Russian tanks surrounded Gori, home of Georgia’s biggest military base, cut off roads leading out of town and began to rumble south toward the capital city of Tbilisi before turning back. Witnesses reported widespread looting and lawlessness both in Gori and the smattering of villages that lead up toward South Ossetia.

While emphasizing their initial focus will be on providing relief supplies, the Pentagon announced Wednesday it would also begin efforts to rebuild the Georgian military.

“Our focus right now is on delivering humanitarian aid and taking care of the immediate needs of those who are caught in this conflict,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell. “When the dust settles I am sure that we will help this sovereign nation and ally rebuild its military.”

The Bush administration’s position could make for a more confrontational relationship with Russia. Washington has threatened to keep Russia out of various international groups, such as the World Trade Organization, as a result of its military action in Georgia.

A further chilling of relations between Washington and Moscow could complicate several Bush administration initiatives, such as its push to build a missile defense system in Europe and its efforts to pressure Iran to give up its nuclear program.

Georgia has strategic significance, partly because of its location along the route of a pipeline that carries oil from the Caspian Sea to the West.

Since 1997, the U.S. military has spent approximately $277 million in military aid to Georgia on uniforms, ammunition, communications equipment and some vehicles.

A senior military officer involved in planning the mission said the new military assistance under consideration for Georgia could include more joint exercises, stepped up military training, closer ties to the Georgian military command, and sales of equipment to replace vehicles and weapons destroyed in the five days of fighting before the cease-fire agreement.

The official acknowledged that there are risks to sending additional U.S. military equipment and personnel into the war-torn region. But the official said U.S. European Command, the Belgium-based headquarters responsible for organizing the mission, had determined that because Russia acquiesced to U.S. military flights bringing Georgian troops back to Tbilisi from Iraq, the chances of conflict were minimal.

“It’s never zero risk, but I think it will be OK,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the mission. An Air Force C-17 loaded with tents and medical supplies landed in Georgia on Wednesday, and another cargo plane is due today. A military humanitarian assessment team is surveying the damage from the Russian-Georgian conflict and will make recommendations on what further assistance could help.

News of Bush’s speech heartened Georgians who felt the United States had abandoned them. “It means the West realizes that we shouldn’t be left alone under siege,” said Mikheil Dolidze, a hospital director in Tbilisi.

Pentagon officials said no warships would be sent to the region and military planners do not expect a large increase in the number of American military personnel on the ground. There are about 70 soldiers and Marines in Georgia, including the staff of the embassy’s defense attache and about 60 military trainers who were preparing Georgian troops for deployment to Iraq.

“This isn’t envisioned as bringing in big, big forces,” the senior military official said.

The official said that the Bush administration had requested a wider range of military options for consideration, and another government official said there was debate over whether larger Navy warships should be deployed to the Black Sea. But international treaties bar large warships from passing through the Bosporus, and the senior military official said the decision was made that military options were not practical.

“Most folks have accepted the fact that a military response is not the right thing to do,” the military official said.