Ukraine president signs order
for Iraq troop withdrawal
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Ukraine ping list!. . .don't be shy.
Posted on 03/22/2005 9:05:32 AM PST by Andy from Beaverton
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) President Viktor Yushchenko has signed the order to withdraw Ukraine's troops from Iraq, cementing a pledge by the new leadership to bring back its 1,650-strong force, the head of the country's security council said Tuesday.
The end date for the pullout will be ''fixed after consultations with the other coalition members,'' and the entire Ukrainian contingent is likely to leave Iraq in November or December, Petro Poroshenko said.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Ukraine Information Ping Thank you
Well, during Al-Sadr rebellion Ukrainian contingent proved to be somewhat less than an asset, IIRC. If that's the case, then their value [besides symbolic] is questionable.
Ukraine president signs order
for Iraq troop withdrawal
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Ukraine ping list!. . .don't be shy.
"Ukraine's participation in the U.S.-led coalition is deeply unpopular at home, but Yushchenko has said Ukraine should keep a presence in Iraq and take part in development and reconstruction efforts there.
Last year, Ukrainian companies were awarded contracts to supply the Iraqi military and development companies with weapons, equipment and vehicles.
Poroshenko said that a Ukrainian delegation of diplomats and defense officials will visit Iraq next week. "
looks like a wink wink nod nod.
Hey - they showed up, didn't they? That's more than can be said of many.
I imagine all the smaller contingents will be pulling out soon enough.
At least they showed up. Dyakuehmo, mirotvortsev.
One wonders how useful they were when they were there.
Of course we're all grateful they were there, but one suspects they proved less helpful than similarly-sized small contingents from other small countries.
The deal is, the Ukrainian army is not a professional army, generally filled with reluctant and abused conscripts; I spent nine months observing them up close and first hand during the late 1990s, and probably the Moldovan army could crush the Ukrainian army. Or even the Greek army, perhaps.
No reflection upon the Ukrainian people themselves--wonderful, delightful, cheating, dishonest, untrustworthy people, the Ukrainians--but more so that their "system" is abysmally corrupt.
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