US rewards countries helping fight terrorism

Washington, Aug 22 (UNI) Pakistan, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, are among the nine countries selected by the US Defense Department to receive between 5 million to 27 million dollar in a bid to help them fight terrorism.

The ''1206 funding,'' named for the section of the 2006 National Defense Authorisation Act that authorises it, is designed to help all these countries build capacity within their national military forces.

The authority allows the Department of Defense (DoD) in consultation with the State Department, to spend up to 200 million dollar a year to help the countries become stronger partners in the global war on terror, according to Bryan Whitman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.

In addition to Lebanon, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, -- five other countries -- Thailand, Yemen, Trans-Saharan Africa, the Gulf of Guinea and the Caribbean Basin are slated to receive between 5 million and 27 million dollar in through the 1206 funding, Mr Whitman said.

These funds will address specific needs in those countries and regions, from upgrading sensors and communication equipment to improving surveillance sites to providing night-vision goggles for tactical forces, he said.

In the case of Lebanon, DoD plans to spend 10 million dollar to buy spare parts for vehicles, armored personnel carriers, helicopters and commercial utility cargo vehicles for the Lebanese military, Mr Whitman told mediapersons here.

DoD had been requesting the 1206 authority for years, but received the authorisation in the 2006 defense budget. Since then, DoD has been working with the State Department to determine the best way to use the new authority.

President Bush approved the programme in early May, before the onset of violence between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah militia forces, and the department notified Congress of the decisions earlier this week. Congress now has until August 16 to raise any objections.

In the case of Lebanon, DoD plans to spend 10 million dollar to buy spare parts for vehicles, armored personnel carriers, helicopters and commercial utility cargo vehicles for the Lebanese military, Mr Whitman said.

Although DoD is taking steps to buy the spare parts, Mr Whitman emphasised that actually handing them over to Lebanon will be based on several conditions. These conditions, agreed to by the Defense and State departments, are-- a firm commitment from the Lebanese government that it will use its military to keep Hezbollah in check, a verified vetting process that will screen the Lebanese army for members with loyalties to Hezbollah, and a verified cease-fire with Hezbollah pulling back beyond the Litani River in southern Lebanon to give an opportunity for the Lebanese army to establish itself there.

The 1206 funding for Lebanon's military would be just one of many US efforts, most under the purview of the State Department and in cooperation with the international community, to help stabilise the situation there.

The 1206 funding for Lebanon's military would be just one of many US efforts, most under the purview of the State Department and in cooperation with the international community, to help stabilise the situation there.

''It's a tool in the toolbox, so to speak,'' Mr Whitman said.

General James Jones, commander of the US European Command, emphasised the importance of the new 1206 authority during early April testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.

''It is much more cost effective to prevent conflicts than to stop one once it's started,'' he said.

''I cannot overstate the importance of our theater security cooperation programmes as the centerpiece to securing our homeland from irregular and catastrophic threats of the 21st century,'' he added.

Mr Jones called the new 1206 authority a paradigm shift that represents a critical first step in security cooperation reform.

''The authority provided in Section 1206 is an important tool in our efforts to implement a strategy that recognises the changed security landscape,''General Jones said.

UNI XC SK BST0747