". . . the U.S. troops in Georgia will control a western route for piping out Caspian oil and gas that Washington has long favored and promoted. In fact, the U.S. military presence will help ensure that a majority of oil and gas from the Caspian basin will go westward – bypassing the United States' geopolitical rivals, Russia and China." - - - Stratfor Global Intelligence. (2-22-2002)



Summary: The Bush administration is providing U.S. troops and several million dollars to the country of Georgia with the stated intent of 'training' and 'advising' their troops. According to the U.S. government this joint military exercise is part of the next front in the ‘war against terrorism.’ The administration has also indicated that under the pretext of fighting 'terrorism' the U.S. will help Azerbaijan in its struggle to secure territorial rights to the oil reserves in the Caspian Sea that are currently being disputed by Iran.
Critics have voiced serious doubts over the contention that this operation is aimed at 'terrorism.' Rather the prevalent view is that the Georgian and Azeri troops are being trained with the purpose of providing security to the proposed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline that is expected to be completed within the next few years.