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.
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