GEORGIA: 2008 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM

UNCLAS TBILISI 002440

SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/CT: RHONDA SHORE AND NCTC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER ACEC
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: 2008 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM

REF: STATE 120019


1. (U) BEGIN TEXT.
Georgia has granted blanket over flight clearance to all U.S.
military aircraft engaged in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Georgia contributed over 2,000 troops to counterterrorism efforts in
Iraq and became a contributing nation to the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. However, Georgia withdrew
its troops from Iraq during the August war with Russia to provide
for homeland defense.
The Georgian government continues to improve border security
operations and worked to eliminate corruption at border checkpoints,
focusing its efforts on stopping the smuggling of contraband,
including money, illegal drugs, and all types of weapons (chemical,
nuclear and biological) that could support terrorism. Therewere
significant improvements in infrastructure at the major border
crossing checkpoints: through DOE's Second Line of Defense Program
(SLD) a border crossing at Tsodna/Lagodekhi (on the border with
Azerbaijan) was completed. Seven remote border posts are in the
final stages of completion which will limit illegal crossings on the
Azeri-Georgian border. In 2008, sixty-one portal monitors have been
or are being installed at various sites throughout the country to
detect radioactive material and devices. At 15 border checkpoints,
Passive Infrared Sensors have been installed. The SLD program has
trained individuals in the Georgian Border Police, Customs, and the
Institute of Physics, enhancing the Government of Georgia's
radioactive material detection capabilities. The Department of
Justice conducted a bulk cash smuggling seminar with the Office of
Prosecutor General, Border Police, Ministry of Interior, and
Customs.
Border crossings into Russia from the separatist regions of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia continue, but were not under the control of the
Government of Georgia. This situation allowed for the unrestricted
and unidentified flow of people, goods, and other items from Russia
into these regions. Since the August 2008 conflict, the
Administrative Boundary Lines between Georgia and the conflict
regions are heavily militarized and movements across the boundary
are controlled, although no formal customs checks or procedures
exist.

END TEXT.

TEFFT