reply for bruise
The US and Britain cannot find “the wi ll i n g” to lead
Washington says that in the war on Iraq they lead a coalition of 45 nations. This is a transparent sham:
• 15 of the 45 are too ashamed to be named.
• 24 of the rest are sending NO troops. This includes Spain!
• 4 are sending token numbers (less than 300 at most).
That leaves Australia (2,000 troops), the UK (45,000) and the US (315,000). It’s not a coalition, it’s a gang.
Among the 15 not willing to be named are presumably Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Djibouti where US forces are based. None of them will sign on in public.
Egypt might be another. And Israel is not on the list either.
Also conspicuous by their absence are NATO allies Canada, Belgium, and Norway (not just France and Germany) and the larger Central and South American countries Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico.
The full list, annotated:
For more info, see
http://www.mbeaw.org and links there.
This flyer made 3/12/03 by Pete Shanks,
[last fig in each entry is footnote number (scroll down)]
Afghanistan We promised them rebuilding money but
the Bush administration forgot to request
any in the latest budget.1
Albania 70 For noncombatant roles only.
Australia 2,000 76% of the people oppose joining a US-led
attack that does not have UN approval.2
Azerbaijan Squeezed between Iran, Armenia, Georgia
and Russia, and positioning itself for
resolution of South Caucasus conflicts.
Bulgaria “seeking US financial or military support”3
Colombia major US-financed drug war in progress
Czech Rep. few “a ch em i c a l - bi o l ogical warf a re su pport unit”3
Denmark 79% of the people against action without
UN approval; 57% against even with it.4
El Salvador On which side is their bread buttered?
Eritrea seeking US support in a boundary dispute
with Ethiopia (q.v.)3
Estonia “seeking US financial or military support”3
Ethiopia seeking US support in a boundary dispute
with Eritrea (q.v.)3
Georgia “already involved in the war on terrorism”3
Hungary wants UK & US su pport for en try to the EU
Italy “Only 34% [of the people] view the US
positively, compared to 70% in 2002.”3
Japan “restricting its support to post-Saddam
reconstruction”5
Country Troops Comment
Korea a little busy with the North
Latvia “seeking US financial or military support”3
Lithuania “seeking US financial or military support”3
Macedonia wants US support in the Balkans
Netherlands 89% of the people against action without
UN approval; 72% against even with it 6
Nicaragua wouldn’t want their harbor mined again
Philippines “already involved in the war on terrorism”3
Poland 200 “Support for the US has dropped from
80% to 50%.”3
Romania 278 “non-combat experts in demining and in
chemical and biological decontamination,
and military police”5
Slovakia 75% against war without UN backing 7
Spain “Spain will not participate in any attack or
offensive missions,” said Prime Minister
Aznar.8 Presumably because “only 14%
have a favourable image” of the US.3
Turkey The Parliament turned down a huge (up to
$26 billion) bribe to let US t roops in but
the government will allow overflights.
UK 45,000 Blurred vision
US 315,000 130,000 in Kuwait, 95,000 in Qatar,
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, etc, and 90,000 on
their way
Uzbekistan “a major beneficiary of U.S. assistance
during and after the war in Afghanistan”
1 BBC 2/13/03 2 The Au s tra l i a n 2/4/03 3 BBC 03/18/03 4 AFP 1/25/03 5 Gu a rd i a n 3/19/03 6 AFP 1/27/03 7 Syd n ey Mo rning Hera l d 1/30/03 8 AP 3/18/03 9 Wa s h i n g ton Po s t 1 2 / 0 4 / 0 2
