Bush Must Have Mouse In Pocket - We (The Coalition)

xplainer Mailbag: Count the Allies
A few more countries with troops in Iraq.
By Brendan I. Koerner
Posted Thursday, July 31, 2003, at 9:02 AM PT

Last Friday, Explainer took a swing at estimating the number of allied
troops currently in Iraq. The American (145,000 troops), British (11,000),
and Australian (1,000) figures were easy enough to find; much tougher
was getting precise numbers on soldiers of other nationalities, since the
Pentagon isn't keeping a running tally for public consumption. After ticking
off the Danes, Lithuanians, Albanians, Poles, and a few others, Explainer
appealed to readers to kick in whatever additional troop intelligence they
had handy.

Of the 30-odd responses, about half didn't quite conform to our strict rules.
Only troops actually on the ground within Iraq's borders count, which
excludes nations that have promised to send peacekeepers next month or
this fall. So, our apologies to the reportedly soon-to-arrive forces from
Georgia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mongolia, Ukraine, and elsewhere. And
we're looking for more-or-less exact figures of verifiable authenticity, so
sketchy tips about South African mercenaries, alas, had to be disregarded.

Finnish reader Kerkko Paananen noted that Explainer gave short shrift to
43 Estonian soldiers who are serving under Centcom's operative command.
That includes 32 infantrymen on patrol in Baghdad's Abu Ghuraybi district
and 11 logistics specialists at the U.S. Air Force base in Talil. Paananen
went the extra yard by adding that the Baghdad-based Estonians are
outfitted with Galil SAR automatic rifles, MG-3 machine guns, Carl-Gustav
and AT4 mortars, Browning pistols, and hand grenades.

Another reader pointed out that 28 Macedonian troops are among the
peacekeepers, having arrived in the Taji (about 30 kilometers north of
Baghdad) in early June. No word on specifically what sidearms they'll be
brandishing, though the Web site does note that the Macedonians will be
tooling around in several Hummers.

There was much mailbag debate as to the exact number of Dutch troops
currently in Iraq. Today, in fact, the U.S. Marines will officially hand over
control of Iraq's Al-Muthanna province to a coterie of Dutch
peacekeepers. However, reports that the Netherlands has more than 1,000
soldiers in Iraq are greatly exaggerated. According to the Dutch Ministry
of Defense, the nation currently has 353 military personnel in
Al-Muthanna, 12 in Basra, 103 in Tallil, and 2 in Baghdad. Another 701 are
in Kuwait, which qualifies as "close but no cigar" according to Explainer's
rules.

A few Norwegians dropped notes to (very politely) alert Explainer that
more than 100 of their countrymen were reportedly pitching in with the
peacekeeping. Indeed, the Norwegian Department of Defence confirms
that an advance party of 26 engineers left for Basra on June 26 and has
since been joined by an additional 104 troops from the Telemark Battalion.

One eagle-eyed reader inquired as to the fate of the Hungarian transport
company lampooned in a recent Washington Post article for offering truck
drivers, but no trucks. Turns out the story ruffled some feathers in
Budapest, compelling the U.S. Embassy there to formally disavow some
snarky quotes in the article (attributed to an anonymous Pentagon official).
An advance team of about 10 Hungarians are now in Iraq, setting up camp
for the 130 or so drivers who will arrive in late August or early September.
As it looks now, they will be driving American vehicles.

The award for most random troop contributor goes to Singapore, though it's
a stretch to refer to their involvement as military in nature.
Singapore-based reader Dale Edmonds pointed out that the city-state has
sent 30 police officers to Baghdad to help train a new crop of Iraqi cops.

Hardest to pin down was the number of Canadians currently in Iraq.
North-of-the-border reader Chris Glebe says there are over 100 Canadians
helping out, while several Canadian papers have fixed the number at 31. A
flack from Canada's Department of National Defence confirmed the
nation's manpower contribution, despite Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's
public reservations about the war. Though she said, yes, there were 31
Canadian "exchange soldiers" in Iraq at one point—that is, military
personnel on loan to the Americans, British, and Australians—the number
now is likely a tad lower due to rotation schedules. How much lower? A
follow-up call with a DND higher-up discovered that only four Canadians
remain—two under British command, one with the Americans, and one
"liaison."