OT: Hungry and Poland pulling out troops?

[Cringer]

BBC Story

Hungary will withdraw all of its 300 troops stationed in Iraq by the end of March 2005, the country's prime minister has said.

Ferenc Gyurcsany made the announcement at a military ceremony in the capital Budapest on Wednesday.

He said Hungary was obliged to keep its troops, who have a non-combat role, in Iraq until after elections in January.

There has been intense pressure from the public and opposition groups to pull them out.

The main conservative opposition party initially supported the war but changed its position and now favours withdrawal.

Iraqi request

Mr Gyurcsany, who was chosen as prime minister in August, made the announcement at a ceremony marking the end of compulsory military service in Hungary.


"We are obliged to stay there until the [Iraqi] elections," he said. "To stay longer is an impossibility."

The troops are based in Hilla, south of Baghdad, and are under Polish command.

One Hungarian soldier was killed in June when a convoy he was guarding was hit by a roadside bomb.

Government spokeswoman Boglar Laszlo told the Associated Press news agency that the Iraqi government had asked Budapest in a letter three weeks ago to extend its troops' mission by about a year.

Poland announced several weeks ago that it would start to reduce its 2,500-strong contingent in January and was considering a complete withdrawal by the end of 2005.


TROOPS CURRENTLY IN IRAQ
US - 142,000
UK - 8,361
Italy - 3,169
South Korea - 2,800
Poland - 2,400
Ukraine - 1,400
Netherlands - 1,345
Australia - 920
Romania - 700
Japan - 550
Denmark - 496
Bulgaria - 485
El Salvador - 380
Hungary - 300
Source: globalsecurity.org

[Dutch]

TROOPS CURRENTLY IN IRAQ
US - 142,000
UK - 8,361
Italy - 3,169
South Korea - 2,800
Poland - 2,400
Ukraine - 1,400
Netherlands - 1,345
Australia - 920
Romania - 700
Japan - 550
Denmark - 496
Bulgaria - 485
El Salvador - 380
Hungary - 300

Wow, outside of the countries in bold, I had no idea these other troops were there. Ukrainian troops in Iraq? Good for them! And I thought we still had 300,000 troops from the invasion in counrty and were stretched terribly thin?

I fully expect to see Iraqi troops listed after the next survey!