WAR: Ukraine Orders Troops Removed From Iraq

The Ukrainian President wants a plan to withdraw their troops from Iraq within the next six months. The desire to remove troops from Iraq quickly is also shared by Ukraine's president-elect Viktor Yushchenko.
The Ukraine currently has of the largest troop contributions with around 1,650 troops in Iraq.



Once the elections are over, I'm sure that many other countries will want to either bring their troops home or reduce their troop levels drastically.
Poland has already announced it wants to reduce the number of troops it has in Iraq.
Luckily, the coalition was able to remain intact long enough to provide security for the upcoming elections.


Related News Links:
www.boston.com
reuters.com

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
WAR: Iraq Must Vote Despite Problems, UN Official Says

[edit on 10-1-2005 by AceOfBase]

I think the question that is left is How many Ukranian troops are in Iraq?. The number surely cant be higher then 100.

[edit on 1/10/2005 by Simulacra]

I was waiting for that one, after they became targets this week it was not going to be long when they will decide to get out of the Iraqi mess.

I wonder what the pro war will scream now, at the last coalition forces as they retrieve from Iraq, I wonder if they still will call them traitors, after all they lasted quite a while in that unruled country.

[edit on 10-1-2005 by marg6043]

Not sure of the physical significance of this withdrawal. Anyone have numbers on this ? But this seems a bold and correct decision. It removes support for this tragedy, which has gone on for far far too long, and can be seen as a concession to Putin or a clear statement to Putin that Ukraine will not be dictated by the American will.

This is not unexpected, Yuschenko always said he wanted to remove Ukrainian troops if elected. I believe the candidate Putin supported wanted to keep the troops there.

Originally posted by Simulacra
I think the question that is left is How many Ukranian troops are in Iraq?. The number surely cant be higher then 100.

I mentioned in the news article that it was around 1,650 because that was the number given in one of the reports.

The Globalsecurity.org website has a slightily smaller number.
Here's the top 10 contributing nations after the US:

Originally posted by djohnsto77
This is not unexpected, Yuschenko always said he wanted to remove Ukrainian troops if elected. I believe the candidate Putin supported wanted to keep the troops there.

No, the outgoing president, Kuchma, is removing the troops, and Yuschenko's opponent is part of Kuchma's group.

edit to add

-or- perhaps I misunderstand you and you are merely saying that Yuschenko also wants to do this?

[edit on 10-1-2005 by Nygdan]

Originally posted by Nygdan
-or- perhaps I misunderstand you and you are merely saying that Yuschenko also wants to do this?

Yushenko also wants to do this.
From the Reuters link in the top post:

President-elect Viktor Yushchenko, who has already promised to bring Ukraine's 1,600 or so troops home from Iraq, said the withdrawal would be a priority as soon as he was sworn in.

"As is well known, the withdrawal of the Ukrainian peacekeeping force is one of our priorities. Yushchenko will address it immediately after he takes the post of president," his Web site said.

Originally posted by Nygdan
perhaps I misunderstand you and you are merely saying that Yuschenko also wants to do this?

Yes, Yushchenko has always had this position. That's probably why Kuchma is going ahead with it now.

The president-elect of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, said repeatedly on the campaign trail that if elected, he would swiftly pull his country's troops out of Iraq.

more here

Message to Ukrainians : Dear people of Ukraine. through your steadfast belief in your right to choose, through the dark hours which you have had to endure, it would appear that your chosen one is one who carries out his promises. You have done well and I congratulate you !

Originally posted by Simulacra
I think the question that is left is How many Ukranian troops are in Iraq?. The number surely cant be higher then 100.

[edit on 1/10/2005 by Simulacra]

If you read the post above yours you will see that 1,650 Ukranian troops are in Iraq.

Well, this is bad news for us. I'm sure the draft is right around the corner and i know, the conservatives will not object because we need to help ST Bush in his cause.

Oh, Dg I am going to give the ST. Bush follower more credit, I bet as soon he says "DRAFT" all his supporters will run to the nearest border, I mean "RECRUITING OFFICES"

[edit on 10-1-2005 by marg6043]

AceofBase: Did you add the number of troops in your post after I commented on the number or before? Have I degraded to the level of a 'One-line Troll'? God help me.

[edit on 1/11/2005 by Simulacra]

Originally posted by Simulacra
AceofBase: Did you add the number of troops in your post after I commented on the number or before?

Nope, it was there before there were any replies to my post.
You weren't the only person to miss it.
I was wondering if my post was typed in an invisible font

No worries, I've glanced over posts quickly myself and missed a few lines.

A resolution to withdraw troops has been passed in the Ukraine:

Itar-Tass
KIEV, January 11 (Itar-Tass) - Ukraine’s Supreme Rada (parliament) has decided to withdraw the Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent from Iraq.

The motion had been backed by 308 out of 450 deputies, who recommended that the president of Ukraine sign a decree for that purpose.

en.rian.ru
According to the Ukrainian defense minister, March and April 2005 may see the withdrawal of the 72nd mechanised brigade stationed outside al-Suweira in Iraq, with the rest of the troops to follow suit within the next 2-3 months. The minister expects the pullout costs to be around $11 million.

The Ukraine won't be alone when they do pull out, many other nations will also be leaving soon or reducing their troops.

Reuters: Dutch troops to exit Iraq despite pressure to stay
AMSTERDAM, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The Netherlands is sticking to its plan to withdraw its 1,350 troops from Iraq in March despite pressure from the United States, Britain and Japan to extend their mission, Dutch news agency ANP reported on Tuesday.

NY Times
WARSAW, Oct. 15 - Prime Minister Marek Belka of Poland narrowly survived a vote of confidence on Friday after telling Parliament, "We will not stay in Iraq an hour longer than is needed."

"Poland will reduce its contingent from the start of 2005 and will discuss subsequent reductions," Mr. Belka said during a speech to Parliament. But, he stressed, the withdrawal of some of the 2,500 Polish troops should not lead to instability in Iraq.

Another country joins the list of nations who will be leaving:

dailytelegraph.news.com.au
PORTUGAL will withdraw its paramilitary force from Iraq on February 12, after extending its stay to help provide security for the January 30 elections, a government spokesman said today.

Portugal had about 120 National Guard officers in Nasiriyah, about 300 km south of Baghdad, he said. They arrived in Iraq in November 2003 and were due to leave in November 2004, but the assignment was extended by 90 days.

It's starting to look like it may just be the US and UK left by the end of the year.

Bulgaria wants to withdraw before the end of 2005:

Yahoo
SOFIA (AFP) - Bulgarian President Georgy Parvanov told parliament that he would like to see Bulgaria's 450-strong troop contingent out of Iraq (news - web sites) before the end of the year, but for the pullout not to be hasty....

.... Parvanov said Bulgaria's position was that its troop could not remain in Iraq "without a clear perspective, and concrete time parameters for our presence."

Hopefully even more nations will withraw.

What do you think will happen when there are less foreign troops in iraq?

Originally posted by Nygdan
What do you think will happen when there are less foreign troops in iraq?

The Iraqis will have control of their own country again.
There will hopefuly be less people getting bombed.
There will be no more Fallujah style assaults.