Bulgaria To Withdraw Troops From Iraq (moved from ATSNN), page 1

The Bulgarian government has voted to withdraw their 450 troops from Iraq. At least 8 Bulgarian soldiers have been killed in Iraq and polls show that the Bulgarian presence there is unpopular amongst the Bulgarian people. The Bulgarian Parliament has the final say but have backed the proposed withdrawl.

news.bbc.co.uk
Out of 208 MPs present, 110 voted for the decision, with 53 against and 45 abstaining.

"We are clearly stating that we are not pulling out of the coalition of the willing, but will continue to watch the situation and find a way to participate," he told the chamber.

The plan includes cutting back troops by 50 by June before the full withdrawal on 31 December.

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Is this the beginning of the rest of the coalition starting to withdraw? Probably not but over the next 1-2 years i can see a large number of troops from many countries being withdrawn from the fighting.

Did the government believe it was just the right time to pull out, or is the withdrawl due to the Bulgarian owned helicopter being shot down last month killing 3 Bulgarian crew members?
My guess is the latter!!!