Hungry and Netherlands pull troops out of Iraq - Poland to follow

Hungary may pull several hundred soldiers out of Iraq within weeks - and months ahead of schedule - the government in Budapest announced yesterday as several US allies in eastern and central Europe mulled over their options in Iraq.

In one of his first acts as Hungary's prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, a millionaire leftwinger, said on Wednesday that he would withdraw the country's 300 soldiers from Iraq by March. But yesterday he told a press conference in Budapest that the troops could be home by the end of the year unless the opposition, fiercely opposed to the deployment, agreed to the extension.

The Czech Republic yesterday agreed to keep 100 police officers helping to train an Iraqi police force in Iraq until February. But they are then expected to be brought home. Bulgaria, too, announced a 1% cut in its contribution to the coalition forces in Iraq.

The most important US regional ally, Poland, with almost 2,500 troops in Iraq and in command of a sector of the country, is to start scaling back its presence from January, and hopes to have fully withdrawn its forces by the end of next year.

...

But the Netherlands, like Poland a strongly Atlanticist EU member, is also planning to pull its force of 1,400 out.

Guardian UK

How many are left in our "Coalition"? How is the US going to fill the modest troops they supplied?

I wonder if these countries were waiting to see if Kerry would be elected, and then maybe a chance for success in Iraq.

You seem to not understand, by the middle of next year the US will be pulling troops out also....

The Iraqi troops will have the wheel........

Could also be because of great pressure buildup to bring their soldiers back in those countries.I doubt it has to do with Kerry losing.

Add to that John Howard cringing at requests for more troops to be sent, then the news coming out that none will be asked for. Phew.

It's weird how the world works.

Oh, and yeah. Iraqis take the wheel eh? What a recipe for disaster. I'll see your Iraqi Wheel and raise you 2 more years with American boots on the ground.

At the very least a partial withdrawal which will backfire.

[edit on 5-11-2004 by cargo]

What you will see over the next 4 years is a very gradual turn over of power to the Iraqi's. Our troops will be there for a long time - no question about that - but it won't be our troops patroling the cities much longer. It will be our guys there to back up the Iraqi's if they can't handle a certain situation.