U.S. expects to help Georgia rebuild military

By David Brunnstrom

TBILISI (Reuters) - The United States expects to help Georgia rebuild its military after it was swept aside by Russia's much larger forces in the conflict over South Ossetia, a top U.S. general said on Thursday.

General John Craddock's comments, made during a trip to Georgia, were enthusiastically taken up by President Mikheil Saakashvili, who said his country needed more military muscle.

"One would assume ... we would have to help them rebuild because they are a partner in the war on terror, they've been helpful. They are going to ask us, I am sure, to replace and rebuild," Craddock, who is in charge of the U.S. European Command, told reporters.

He said he would assess Georgia's needs during his visit, due to end on Friday, and report back to the Pentagon.

"I think that (assistance) is probably going to happen. It's a matter of how much and how fast," he added.

Saakashvili told a news briefing after meeting Craddock: "We need to rebuild the military, we need to make them stronger."

The Georgian leader added: "We need new people trained and we need new equipment and we will work very closely with the U.S. to get all of this."

Conflict between Georgia and Russia erupted when Georgia tried to reimpose control over its breakaway, pro-Russian South Ossetia region on Aug. 7-8.