Replies

Nearly 25% 0f Troops in Iraq are Non US Troops - Kerry wrong again!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/iraq/foreigntroops.html

In addition to the United States, which has more than 130,000 troops in Iraq, many other countries have sent military personnel. The number of non-American coalition troops is more than 40,000, though numbers fluctuate.

United Kingdom: 9,000 soldiers
Italy: 3,000 soldiers, some serving as police and engineers
Poland: 2,400 soldiers
Ukraine: 1,600 soldiers
Netherlands: 1,100 soldiers plus a logistics team, a field hospital, military police and 200 engineers
Japan: 1,100 soldiers assigned to reconstruction
Australia: 800 soldiers
Romania: 700 soldiers plus 149 de-mining specialists, military police and "special intelligence" members
South Korea: 600 military engineers and medics
Bulgaria: 480 soldiers plus chemical warfare experts
Thailand: 440 soldiers assigned to humanitarian missions
Denmark: 420 soldiers including medics and military police
El Salvador: 360 soldiers
Hungary: 300 soldiers
Norway: 179 soldiers, mostly engineers and mine clearers
Mongolia: 160 soldiers involved in peacekeeping
Azerbaijan: 150 soldiers taking part in law enforcement and protection of historic monuments
Portugal: 125 soldiers functioning as police officers
Latvia: 120 soldiers
Lithuania: 115 soldiers
Slovakia: 102 soldiers
Czech Republic: 80 soldiers, serving as police
Philippines: 80 soldiers plus police and medics
Albania: 70 non-combat troops
Georgia: 70 soldiers
New Zealand: 60 army engineers assigned to reconstruction (expected to leave in Sept. 2004)
Moldova: 50 soldiers including de-mining specialists and medics
Macedonia: 35 soldiers
Estonia: 30 soldiers
Kazakhstan: 30 soldiers (expected to leave end of May 2004)
Spain withdrew its troops from Iraq following the election of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on March 14. Honduras and the Dominican Republic quickly followed suit. The three countries combined had nearly 2,000 troops in Iraq. Nicaragua withdrew its 115 troops at the end of March 2004 for economic reasons.

Countries that provide non-military support include: Kuwait and Qatar, which have hosted the U.S. Central Command and the invasion force; Ethiopia and Eritrea, which have given use of bases or ports; and Turkey, which has given permission for airspace use. Others countries have opted to give political support: Angola, Costa Rica, Colombia, Iceland, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Palau, Panama, Rwanda, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Uganda and Uzbekistan.

In early April 2004, the Bush administration indicated it was negotiating with another 50 countries that had expressed interest in providing peacekeeping troops.

FOREIGN WORKERS

The exact number of foreign workers in Iraq is hard to gauge, but it's at least 30,000. Many work for companies that have contracts with the American military to provide support or to rebuild the country. Others work for aid agencies.

Companies with U.S. Department of Defence contracts:
Kellogg, Brown and Root
Washington Group International
Fluor Intercontinental
Perini Corporation
Vinnell Corporation
CSC DynCorp International

Companies with U.S. Agency for International Development contracts:
International Resources Group
Air Force Augmentation Program
Stevedoring Services of America
Creative Associates International
Research Triangle Institute
Abt Associates
Skylink Air and Logistics Support
Bearing Point Inc.
Bechtel (including subcontractors from the UK, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Kuwait, Switzerland)

Non-governmental organizations with USAID grants:
United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF)
World Health Organization (WHO)
Mercy Corps
International Relief and Development Incorporated
Agriculture Co-operative Development International
Volunteers in Overseas Co-operative Assistance
Co-operative Housing Foundation
Save the Children Federation
Iraqi Nursing Association