I need a list of the so-called coalition in Iraq. One was posted here.

[madfloridian]

This letter to the editor appeared today, very simplistic, very misinformed. I intend to respond to it, and I have part of it written. However, I can not find the countries' names, and I can not find who has backed out on us. I know they are itty bitty countries with very very few troops. I despise seeing letters like this one.

I don't need all the countries, just some examples that will fit in the letter. I can not find it on a search, can't get the terms right.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040814/NEWS/408140334/1037/EDIT

SNIP..."Former President Clinton said at the Democratic Convention that the "U.S. walked away from our allies."

The Wall Street Journal reports that close to 100 countries are working with Washington in the broader war on terror. Twenty countries have troops in Afghanistan. Thirty-three nations currently are part of the U.S. led military coalition in Iraq.

Is this walking away from our allies?

Stop the hypocrisy, Mr. Clinton, please!..."

[kodi]

1. ok

Afghanistan,
Albania
Angola,
Australia,
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria,
Colombia,
Costa Rica,
Czech Republic,
Denmark ,
Dominican Republic,
El Salvador,
Eritrea,
Estonia,
Ethiopia,
Georgia,
Great Britian,
Honduras,
Hungary,
Iceland,
Italy,
Japan,
Kuwait,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Macedonia,
Marshall Islands,
Micronesia,
Mongolia,
Netherlands,
Nicaragua,
Palau,
Panama,
Philippines,
Poland,
Portugal
Romania,
Rwanda,
Singapore,
Slovakia,
Solomon Islands,
South Korea,
Spain,
Tonga,
Turkey,
Uganda,
Ukraine,
Uzbekistan,

[jeff30997]

2. With the mighty Mongolian army to back the US...

Victory is assured!

[TheDebbieDee]

3. Just thinkin' about those mighty warriors from Palau...........

would make me pee my pants if I were in Iraq.

[Mortos]

4. Here are some interesting facts

A Coalition of the Willing?

From the Washington Post:




France and Germany lead European opposition to a speedy attack. But Britain, Italy, Spain, Denmark and Portugal, as well as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, have firmly backed the U.S. position. On Wednesday, 10 more European governments, in the former communist east, jointly declared support for Washington. They were Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

A quick scan of opinion polls reveals that, while governments are supporting the US, the people are solidly opposed to unilateral and even UN action in all but a few countries. This can be explained by diplomatic pressure which has, for now, overcome a distinct lack of popular support in the following countries:

Britain: 86% say give weapons inspectors more time, 34% think that US and Britain have made a convincing case for invasion. »


Spain: 80% opposed to war, 91% against attack without UN resolution »

Italy: 72% opposed to war »

Portugal: 65% say there is no reason to attack now »

Hungary: 82% opposed to invasion under any circumstances »

Czech Republic: 67% opposed to invasion under any circumstances »

Poland: 63% against sending Polish troops, 52% support US "politically" »

Denmark: 79% oppose war without U.N. mandate »

Australia: 56 per cent only backed UN-sanctioned action, 12% support unilateral action. 76% oppose participation in a US-led war on Iraq. Australian Senate voted 33-31 to censure Howard for committing 2,000 soldiers to US action. »

The "Vilnius 10" is a group of 9 countries that are seeking membership in NATO and Croatia. In many cases, their future security depends on NATO membership. In Estonia, for example, there is a tangible fear that Russia will take over again, given a militaristic enough government and the right opportunity (the--thankfully past--popularity of the fascist Vladimir Zhirinovsky was a good indication of this possibility. Zhirinovsky had a map in his office showing the borders of Russia expanded to include the former Soviet Union and Alaska). In any case, it's doubtful that these governments are supporting the US for any other reason than to get diplomatic points (or conversely, not piss away their chances of NATO membership).

Taking Estonia as an example again, we find that the government has supported war without any debate in Parliament, despite 70% of the people and major newspapers opposed to war in Iraq.

Latvia: 74% oppose taking out Hussein with military force »

Romania: 38% opposed, 45% in favour »

Macedonia: 10% support war on Iraq »

Bulgaria: 21% support war »

Estonia: 30% support war »

Slovakia: 60% oppose sending Slovak soldiers »

Information for Albania, Croatia, Slovenia and Lithuania was immediately available via Google news, but according to this report, Romania is the only country in the "Vilnius 10" that has a majority of the population supporting the war.

For comparison purposes:

France: 76% against war without UN support »

Germany: 55% against war with UN support, 90% against war without UN support. 57% hold the opinion that "the United States is a nation of warmongers". »


A clear majority of the citizens of the countries in the coalition do not support it. Try using that in your LTTE.

[madfloridian]

7. Excellent chart and info, and good idea about the approval.

Thanks so much.

[yella_dawg]

10. Muldova

must have sent their entire army.

[kodi]

5. talk numbers, population and economic

50 countries.

Only 4 which are in the top 15 nations as defined by GDP, the second largest, Japan ($3.9T) has sent no fighting troops, and the fourth, Italy will in all likelihood see its current government fall due to its support of Bush, just like in Spain.

The population of Coalition countries is approximately 1.23 billion people. that is merely equivalent to either China or India, both of whom are against this war.

Coalition countries have a combined GDP of approximately $22 trillion.

After the US ($10.5T), Japan ($3.9T), Great Britain ($2.1T), and Italy ($1.9T) you are left with such economic & political powerhouses of the 46 remaining countries of $4T total GDP.

that is less than the combined GDP of france and germany.

context is everything.

[Yupster]

8. Does Italy have the 4th highest GDP?

I would have never guessed that.

Do you have a list of the top 15?

I guess US, Japan, Germany for 1-2-3?

I have heard Russian growth is fast. I wonder if they're in the top 10.

[kodi]

9. the "4th" referenced italy being ranked 4th in gdp of coalition members

sorry for the confusion.

[madfloridian]

6. Wow! I knew I should have asked DUers.

Great stuff. I have to keep it simple though. That is going to be the hard part. Another of our Dean group here and I work on researching and editing our letters to the editors. We have a good track record for being printed.

As a teacher, I learned that keeping it simple is the hardest thing to do.

Great research on this. I will print out the thread or save it to my computer for easier access..