[Destro]

Funny how many "conservatives" here supported anti-Iraq and pro EU Yushchenko over outgoing PM Viktor Yanukovych who along with President Kuchma sent Ukrainian troops to Iraq. But old outdated Cold-War emotions and religious hatred of Eastern Orthodox can be easily manipulated.

[aliquis]

Didn't they say they wanted to join the ranks of EUro-Weasels? Nothing surprising here. Such a commitment may secure them a place in the Coalition of the Fleeing.

[eleni121]

Bad news...I suspected as much from Yush. A big mistake.

I guess many Ukrainians are unaware how they are still enamored of strongmen.

[KenmcG414]

This guy is no friend of the USA. He'll be just like the French & German leeches who want to get all they can from us. Our friend George Soros helped bank roll this guy's campaign. Enough said?

[Truthsayer20]

The funny thing is that many of the paleo-cons and other assorted malcontents who have been supporting Yanukovich on FR, were also against the Iraq war from the beginning. I hope these people are not NOW making an issue about Yushchenko planning to pull back the Ukranian troops. In fact, why would they support someone (i.e., Yanukovich and Kuchma) who goes along with such "neo-con" policies?

[Lukasz]

Yushchenko: Our participation in the solution to the crisis in Iraq is in the interest of Ukraine. We have economic ties and investment in the country. Our units are only involved in achieving humanitarian goals and it depends on the future government in Iraq if they need our further help. We will consult our allies before we decide anything however.

There is a quote from interview with Yushchenko for “Spiegel”. When he saying that withdrawn of troops is priority that don’t means that he will do this immediately and without of consultation with Iraqi government and coalition forces. Beside that we all want to our troops back as soon as it would be possible, maybe not?

And Of course even if Ukraine would withdrawn troops, I would still support Yushchenko because I have some priorities and democracy in Ukraine is more important than 1600 troops in Iraq. Destro your comment is biased because we all remember that Yanukovich during their election campaign used often anti-American rhetoric. Yushchenko was often accused for being American spy.

I know that Yuschenko team is trying right now, arrange meeting with Bush when he will arrive to Europe.

[HardTarget]

Kind of humbling to be getting a lesson in democracy from the Ukraine, isn't it?

[roamincadillac]

It's the election in Spain all over again.

[MeekOneGOP]

Withdrawing Ukraine troops from
Iraq priority, Yushchenko says

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Yushchenko vs. Yanukovych/Ukraine election ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[John Lenin]

I smell the EU in this.

[Southack]

"Viktor Yushchenko said that withdrawing the nation's troops from Iraq will be a priority for him once he takes office..."

Yushchenko just put to lie *all* of the propaganda that you've been hearing about how it was "the U.S." intefering with the Ukraine's election. Clearly, the U.S. isn't going out of its way to swing allied power away from our Iraq coalition.

What you heard about U.S. interference was a lie. It was a *calculated*, professional lie that was designed to throw the blame off of Germany and France.

It was Germany and France that interfered in the Ukraine's election. Germany imports 75% of its oil and gas through the Ukraine, and those Russian contracts are now essentially in the hands of Yushchenko...who will go on to use them to buy his way into the EU.

In this manner, Germany has just trumped Russia over those energy contracts. Without those energy contracts, Russia now has very little leverage over Germany. This puts Germany in the driver's seat for control of greater Europe.

Likewise, France gets the Ukraine out of Iraq with their successful election interference in the Ukraine. Moreover, France can now move to bring the Ukraine into the new EU military to go hand in glove with France's plan to kill NATO.

Thus, these political machinations will kick the U.S. out of Europe (NATO is almost dead now) and will keep Russia on the back bench.

Of course, I told you this LONG before it all happened; it's not that big of a secret...it's just that this sort of thing isn't going to show up in any newspapers any time soon.

But Yushchenko has already tipped his hand, and it wasn't to show a pro-U.S. gesture to the world, now was it?! Ukraine will now withdraw from Iraq, just as France and Germany had schemed all along.

[Happy2BMe]

YUSCHENKO'S EARLY DISAPPOINTMENT - ping. ==========================================================

Politics: 10 January 2005, Monday.

The winner of Ukraine's presidential vote Viktor Yushchenko pledged to withdraw the nation's troops from Iraq and that it will be a priority for him once he takes office.

The announcement came after an accidental blast killed seven Ukrainian soldiers, along with one Kazakh soldier, in Iraq's central Wasit region. The troops died after a bomb they were about to defuse went off accidentally. Another seven Ukrainian and four Kazakh troops were injured as a result of the accident.

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov sent Monday a letter of condolences to his outgoing analogue of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma expressing his deepest empathy to the families of the seven killed soldiers.

Some 1,600 Ukrainian troops have been deployed since August 2003 in Iraq's Wasit region where US-led coalition forces are under Polish commandment.