US: President Bush plans to launch an international initiative to help train and equip foreign troops for peacekeeping missions around the world, administration officials confirmed yesterday.
The expected five-year, $660 million plan, first reported by the Washington Post, could help relieve pressure on American forces stretched thin by deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti and elsewhere.
The money will be used for training, equipment and logistical support to help prepare countries for peacekeeping missions on short notice, chiefly in their own regions.
The programme, known as the Global Peace Operations Initiative, will be aimed largely at Africa by expanding the peacekeeping skills of African forces and encouraging international military exercises where US officials said much of the need exists.
But African forces developed under the programme could be used in peace operations anywhere in the world, the Post said.
"They have a greater familiarity with the people in their regions and can be deployed in a more rapid manner," an administration official said.
The programme will also assist armies in Asia, Latin America and Europe.