Posted on 11/08/2003 12:40:26 PM PST by TexKat
BUDAPEST, Hungary - It's a bold response to the mounting casualties in Iraq (news - web sites): a commitment by Hungary to keep troops there through the end of 2004.
With Americans dying in nearly daily attacks, nations pulling diplomats out of harm's way and counterterrorism experts warning of accelerated violence, the U.S.-led coalition could expect a few defections.
Instead, allies like Hungary insist they're prepared to stay put in Iraq come what may.
"If we were attacked, would that deter us from staying there? I would say no," Defense Minister Ferenc Juhasz said in an interview with The Associated Press.
To be sure, Hungary has little at stake with 300 soldiers in a relatively safe corner of Iraq. But Juhasz sees parliament's overwhelming decision last Tuesday to maintain troops through the end of next year as a powerful message to the insurgents spilling coalition blood.
The decision came even as U.S. forces were in the midst of their bloodiest week since Saddam Hussein's regime fell. Only days before, insurgents shot down an American Chinook helicopter, killing 16 soldiers — and on Friday six more were killed when another copter crashed, apparently downed by guerrilla fire. Multinational forces also suffered their first combat death on Thursday, when a Polish soldier was killed.
Still, from Albania to Estonia, America's Cold War foes-turned-friends are reaffirming their commitments.
Army Maj. Aivars Caune of Latvia, which deployed a tiny contingent of 140 troops, returned from duty this week to tell journalists he believes his comrades-at-arms are "morally prepared to come under fire."
"The risk of an icicle dropping on your head here is much greater than of a helicopter being shot down over there," he said.
That the United States has suffered virtually all the coalition casualties in Iraq helps explain such nonchalance among nations so far spared fatalities. One Albanian and seven Ukrainian soldiers have been wounded and one Pole has been killed in combat since Saddam's fall — compared to nearly 150 Americans killed and 1,900 wounded in hostile fire. More than 50 British troops have been killed since the invasion of Iraq, most before President Bush declared the end of major combat in May.
Still, many ordinary citizens in nations contributing troops are apprehensive — and they draw a distinction between peacekeeping and the more dangerous business of peacemaking.
Tina Marosi, a 19-year-old seamstress in Budapest, wants Hungary's troops home.
"The government knows that sooner or later one of the soldiers will get killed," she said. "I don't know why we had to send them in the first place."
Leaders offer varying reasons for sticking it out in Iraq.
Many express gratitude for U.S. help in shaking off communism and preparing for membership in NATO and the European Union. Others see an opportunity to step out of the imposing shadows cast by Germany and France and find their own voices as EU newcomers.
Some see their futures as inextricably tied to the world's only remaining superpower.
"The way the world works today, we have to stay on the good side of the Americans," said Peter Szegedi, 29, a Hungarian store manager.
At least three countries — Bulgaria, Spain and the Netherlands — have ordered diplomats out of Baghdad. Numerous humanitarian organizations also have withdrawn staff.
Yet no nations have publicly discussed drawing down troop levels or pulling out.
Poland remains committed to its mission but doesn't want to be in Iraq for long, Prime Minister Leszek Miller said Friday. "Today, the world is so small that the threat of international terrorism concerns everyone," he said.
South Korea, which already has 675 non-combat troops in Iraq, is considering sending more personnel. Japan is preparing to send troops. And Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania may extend their missions well into next year.
The rising death toll prompted 58 of Thailand's 200 senators to sign a petition this week calling for an immediate withdrawal of the country's 422 soldiers, based in Karbala. The government responded that a pullout would amount to cowardice.
Opposition lawmakers in Ukraine, which has 1,650 troops in Iraq, also are pressing for a withdrawal.
"We were against sending troops from the very beginning because of a real threat to Ukrainian servicemens' safety. Now we see more reasons to withdraw," said Communist Party lawmaker Ihor Olekseyev.
But tiny Albania, with just 71 soldiers in Iraq, reflects the prevailing coalition attitude.
"Albania's stand has not changed. We remain alongside the world coalition in the fight against terrorism," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Agim Neza.
Asqeri Bega, whose 27-year-old son is patrolling Mosul, said he'd "be ashamed to call my son back from Iraq."
"He has gone there for peace, even though the situation may be dangerous," Bega said.
"He is a soldier."
With Americans dying in nearly daily attacks, nations pulling diplomats out of harm's way and counterterrorism experts warning of accelerated violence, the U.S.-led coalition could expect a few defections.
Instead, allies like Hungary insist they're prepared to stay put in Iraq come what may.
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Bless our brave "New Europe" allies.
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If you want on or off my Pro-Coalition ping list, please Freepmail me. Warning: it is a high volume ping list on good days. (Most days are good days).
And my thanks to the other allies who plan to stay the course.
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