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FT.com / World - US military trained Georgian commandos

FT.com / World - US military trained Georgian commandos
By Charles Clover in Moscow and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington

Published: September 5 2008 18:49 | Last updated: September 5 2008 18:49

The US military provided combat training to 80 Georgian special forces commandos only months prior to Georgia’s army assault in South Ossetia in August.

The revelation, based on recruitment documents and interviews with US military trainers obtained by the Financial Times, could add fuel to accusations by Vlad­imir Putin, Russian prime minister, last month that the US had “orchestrated” the war in the Georgian enclave.

The training was provided by senior US soldiers and two military contractors. There is no evidence that the contractors or the Pentagon, which hired them, knew that the commandos they were training were likely be used in the assault on South Ossetia.

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