Word: pankisi
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...Georgia, at least a dozen al-Qaeda members are hiding in the Pankisi Gorge along the country's northeastern border, according to a U.S. official. They are thought to have arrived there after the fall of Kabul, finding the wild and remote gorge a safe harbor on their way from Afghanistan to Chechnya--where the Muslim rebellion is a favorite al-Qaeda cause...
...against terrorism moved into the volatile Trans-caucasus region as five U.S. military advisers arrived in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The five are the advance guard of a unit that could number up to 200 to train Georgian troops to counter possible terrorist activity in the mountainous Pankisi Gorge area. Moscow reacted cautiously, with Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov saying the Americans "could further aggravate the situation in the region...
...starters, the governments of Russia and Georgia have very different ideas on who the bad guys are. Moscow has long demanded the right to attack all Chechen fighters based inside Georgian territory, in particular a group of Chechen rebels sheltering in the Pankisi Gorge. Georgia, eager to break free of two centuries of Russian influence, has labeled the rebels "Chechen freedom fighters" - and has refused Russia permission to launch operations in the Pankisi...
...they've invited the U.S. to come into Pankisi instead, to train Georgian forces for an ongoing anti-terrorism mission. The U.S. and Georgia say their target will be about a dozen Arab extremists based in the area, believed to be long-time volunteers with a militant Chechen faction (rather than stragglers from Afghanistan). But they won't be launching an all-out campaign against Chechen fighters in the Pankisi...
...deployment over Moscow's objections would end the illusion that Russian cooperation against the Taliban will buy Western endorsement of Moscow's often brutal military campaign in Chechnya. The U.S. military has made clear it has no intention of cooperating with Russian forces against Chechen fighters in the Pankisi. The objective of any mission, officials say, would be to help the Georgian government regain control of an area that had become a haven of criminality and a sanctuary for a small number of al-Qaida operatives...