G8 seeks to help create world peacekeeping force

SAVANNAH, GA., June 9 (REUTERS): The group of eight international nations intends to help create a global peacekeeping force of more than 50,000 people over the next five to six years, senior US officials said yesterday.

The two officials, briefing reporters at the G8 summit, said the initiative grew out of African requests for assistance in ending the wars that plague the continent.

"The centerpiece of this initiative will be a pledge by the G8 countries to train a certain number, we hope well in excess of 50,000 peacekeepers around the world, but beginning in Africa, over the next five or six years," said one of the officials, who spoke on condition that they not be identified.

"And it really is sort of unique - it's the first time the G8 has taken on a specific - a pledge like this, and has said we are going to train this number of peacekeepers over this time frame, and we're going to seek to equip them, and we're going to seek to help them get to where they want to be," the official said.

They said that although the initiative would be launched in Africa, where the need was greatest, its scope was global.

"The idea is to train peacekeepers and equip them and enable them to get to where they're needed all over the world," one official said.

"Security is a necessary condition for all the reforms and progress that we hope to promote around the world .

It's not for a lack of willingness that African Nations and other nations are unable to sometimes deal with the peace support operations that they find themselves charged with.

"It's because they don't have the training, they don't have the airlift, they don't have the equipment.

And that's what this initiative is meant to get at." One of the officials said Italy linked in the G8 with the United States, Britain, France, Canada, Germany, Japan and Russia was offering the use of a training center.

"It already exists, which is why we can get it going so quickly to help train so-called heavy police or gendarmes .To fill the gap between policemen and the troops and the tanks," the official said.

The Bush administration would seek 660 million from Congress to spend over the next five years for training and equipment, the US officials said.