Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Coalition nations look ahead to exit

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Coalition nations look ahead to exit

    Coalition nations look ahead to exit

    Chicago Tribune
    Tue Feb 1, 2005

    By Stephen J. Hedges, Washington Bureau

    Now that Iraq's election has passed, several of the 28 nations in the
    American-led military coalition intend to withdraw their troops, citing
    the costs--in lives and money--of operating for nearly two years inside
    Iraq.

    Before the election, some nations had declared it was time to reduce
    their commitments and rely on the Iraqis to play a larger security role.
    Now others will be watching closely to see whether the temporary
    government elected Sunday can make the improvements in stability that
    would allow more coalition nations to draw down their forces.

    The Netherlands, for example, will withdraw all but about 300 of its
    1,500 troops beginning March 15, allowing time after the election to
    lend support.

    "Our Ministry of Defense clearly stated that the Netherlands considered
    the mission done there," said Rear Adm. Michiel Hijmans, the Dutch
    defense attache in Washington. "We've been there 20 months now, and it's
    fairly difficult to continue with this operation."

    Not all of those withdrawing or cutting back say explicitly the decision
    was related to the vote. And coalition members aren't the only countries
    viewing the postelection period as a time for reassessment.

    Two key opponents of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, France and Germany,
    expressed support Monday for the election, and French President Jacques
    Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder discussed Iraq in
    telephone calls with President Bush (news - web sites).

    According to a French spokesman, Chirac told Bush that the conduct of
    the election was "satisfactory" and that it was "an important step in
    the political reconstruction of Iraq."

    German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer praised Iraqis for going to the
    polls and said, "The challenge of putting Iraq on a stable democratic
    footing is one we must all take on together."

    Neither country, however, gave any indication they were willing to send
    troops to Iraq.

    Meanwhile, some coalition nations are packing up, either because they
    believe the crucial work has been done or because of domestic political
    considerations. Ukraine has begun plans to withdraw its 1,600 troops, a
    move backed by the new president, Viktor Yushchenko, whose campaign
    included a promise to bring the troops home.

    In December, 300 Hungarian soldiers left; they had intended to stay
    through the election but were ordered home early by Hungary's parliament.

    Poland, which maintained an important military presence in hot spots
    south of Baghdad, has decided to cut its force to 1,700 troops from
    2,400, and government officials have suggested that more withdrawals
    could occur. Thirteen Polish soldiers have been killed in Iraq.

    "Late last year our government decided to reconsider the number of
    soldiers in Iraq, and again after the elections, depending on the
    situation," said Marek Purowski, Poland's press attache in Washington.
    "The idea is that the Iraqi force and the new elected government should
    take over."

    Even Britain, America's most steadfast ally in Iraq, is looking forward
    to a time when its 9,000 troops can leave. British Prime Minister Tony
    Blair (news - web sites) told the Financial Times newspaper recently
    that he is willing to discuss "timelines" for the withdrawal of British
    troops, most of whom work in the more peaceful south.

    "Remember, 14 out of the 18 provinces in Iraq are relatively peaceful
    and stable," Blair told the newspaper. "Both ourselves and the Iraqis
    want us to leave as soon as possible. The question is: What is `as soon
    as possible'? And the answer to that is: When the Iraqi forces have the
    capability to do the job."

    The Bush administration often has cited the international coalition of
    troops in Iraq as proof of the broad support for the U.S. mission there.
    About 152,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Iraq along with
    about 25,000 other foreign soldiers, according to a spokesman for the
    U.S. military command in Baghdad. Nations involved in the coalition
    include Australia, El Salvador (news - web sites), Estonia, Bulgaria,
    Portugal and South Korea (news - web sites).

    While nations in the coalition have sometimes changed, administration
    officials say it has remained a steady force whose presence is
    determined by conditions in Iraq, not a timetable.

    Any withdrawal is "mission-driven," said State Department spokesman
    Steve Pike. "It may go faster, it may go slower, but it's going to be
    driven, at least from our point of view, by what we do, by what's
    possible, by results."

    For other coalition nations, though, there may be more than the mission
    to consider. Hijmans noted that the Netherlands also has 500 troops in
    the Balkans, 4,500 committed to a NATO (news - web sites) response force
    and 750 assigned to operations in Afghanistan (news - web sites). Two
    Dutch soldiers have been killed in Iraq.

    "We have to leave because we're also involved in a lot of operations all
    over the world," Hijmans said. "We're a small force, and we're really
    stretched."

    John Pike, a military analyst at Globalsecurity.org, said many of the
    U.S. partners in Iraq who signed on to help after the Iraq invasion in
    2003 did not expect operations to last this long.

    "I think a lot of these people figured that it was going to be a limited
    tour of duty," Pike said. "I think they've figured they've done their
    duty, they've taken their turn and now that they've had elections, let
    the Iraqis do it themselves."

    The departures could be significant for the U.S. troops and other forces
    remaining in Iraq. They could complicate the task of combating an
    anti-American insurgency that has demonstrated the ability to strike
    everywhere in the country.

    Many of the foreign troops have been intensely involved in training
    Iraqi security forces. Their work now will have to be taken up by
    remaining U.S. and other foreign forces. Britain, for instance, plans to
    shift about 600 soldiers already in Iraq to take up the training of
    Iraqi security forces that was being carried out by about 1,100 Dutch
    troops. It also will dispatch about 200 fresh troops to Iraq.

    "The UK remains committed, like the U.S. remains committed, committed
    until the country is stabilized," said Sam Keayes, a spokesman for
    Britain's Ministry of Defense. "We will remain there at the request of
    the government of Iraq."

    As for the Iraqi government, officials have been reluctant to discuss
    the departure of foreign forces until more government troops are
    trained, an elected government is in place and insurgent-driven violence
    is reduced.

    Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi spoke recently of a "condition-based"
    rather than a "calendar-based" withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign forces.

    During a pre-election briefing in Baghdad last Friday, Barham Saleh,
    Iraq's deputy prime minister for national security affairs, said the
    size of the foreign force in Iraq is directly related to the level of
    violence by Iraqi insurgents.

    "We will be in need for international support for some time to come,
    because on one hand, we're dealing with a security threat from
    terrorism, but at the same time we're talking about a tough
    neighborhood," Saleh said.

    "The overall security environment of Iraq would require continued
    international engagement," he added. "My hope is that after the
    elections and the formation of an elected Iraqi government the security
    dynamic will change, and more reliance will be placed on indigenous
    Iraqi forces."

    - - -

    Coalition ranks thinning

    Following Sunday's elections in Iraq, some nations in the U.S.-led
    coalition could reassess their troop commitments.

    Total coalition forces: 177,300
    U.S.: 152,000
    Non-U.S.: 25,300
    NON-U.S. FORCES BREAKDOWN
    Troops in Iraq as of January
    Britain 9,000
    S. Korea 3,600
    Italy 3,085
    Poland* 2,400
    Ukraine* 1,600
    Netherlands* 1,500
    Romania 700
    Japan 550
    Denmark 496
    Bulgaria 485
    Others 1,884
    *Has announced plans to withdraw some or all troops
    Countries that have withdrawn troops
    Dominican Republic
    Honduras
    Hungary
    New Zealand
    Nicaragua
    Philippines
    Spain
    Thailand
    Others, in order of troop strength, are: Australia, El Salvador,
    Georgia, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Portugal, Latvia, Czech Republic,
    Lithuania, Slovakia, Albania, Estonia, Armenia, Tonga, Macedonia,
    Kazakhstan, Moldova and Norway.

    Note: Some totals approximate

    Sources: GlobalSecurity.org, Tribune reporting, U.S. State Department.

    http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/chitribts/20050201/ts_chicagotrib/coalitionnationslookaheadtoexit
Working...
X