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U.S.-led Coalition Falling Apart in Iraq

HeadlineJul 15, 2004

The Washington Post is reporting the Bush administration is struggling to keep countries in the so-called coalition from pulling out of Iraq. The Philippines have already begun pulling out their troops. Norway has quietly removed its 155 military engineers leaving behind only 15 people. New Zealand plans to pull its engineers out by September. Thailand also plans a September pull-out. And the Netherlands is likely to pull out next spring. Spain, Honduras and the Dominican Republic have already pulled their troops. Other countries have reduced their presence. Moldova now has 12 people in Iraq, down from 42. Singapore has 33, down from 191. There are some exceptions. South Korea has announced it will increase its force from 600 to 3700. And Georgia plans to more than double the number of troops it has from about 150 to 400. The U.S. currently has about 140,000 troops stationed in Iraq. In October, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed critics who claimed the Iraq invasion was largely a US effort. He said behind the Iraq occupation was “one of the largest coalitions in the history of mankind.”

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