Nations back off sending troops to Iraq

By Tom Squitieri,

USA TODAY WASHINGTON
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-10-27-iraq-no-troops_x.htm

Bangladesh and Portugal, two nations the Pentagon has
pressed to send combat troops to Iraq, have decided
against contributing to the U.S.-led force there. A
third nation that once promised to send troops, South
Korea, says it has not made up its mind and has delayed
a decision pending further study. Turkey has agreed to
send 10,000 troops but is waiting to hear from the
Pentagon when and where they should go. U.S. officials
have delayed discussing specifics with Turkey because of
opposition to the Turkish deployment from Kurds who live
in northern Iraq. Turkish officials say their offer will
stand for a year but that none of its forces will be
deployed unless the Pentagon gets public assurances of
support from the Kurds.

The decisions by Bangladesh, Portugal and South Korea,
coupled with the snag in the Turkish deployment, add to
frustration in the Pentagon over the difficulty of
getting foreign troops to replace some of the weary U.S.
forces.

Bangladesh and South Korea were considering sending
5,000 troops each.

Public opinion in all three countries was overwhelmingly
opposed to the U.S.-led invasion and has remained high
against the occupation.

The setbacks come just weeks after India and Pakistan
turned down Pentagon requests to send large contingents
to Iraq, despite heavy pressure from U.S. officials.
Bangladesh, Pakistan and Turkey had symbolic importance:
They would be the first large nations with substantial
Muslim populations to send troops to Iraq.

Rising violence in Iraq, especially attacks on non-U.S.
targets such as one Monday on the headquarters of the
International Red Cross and the Aug. 19 bombing of
United Nations headquarters, makes sending troops to
Iraq difficult, a senior Bangladesh diplomat says.

The official says political and public opposition to a
deployment is very high, and many politicians question
why Muslim troops from Bangladesh should go to a Muslim
nation like Iraq without being asked by the host
government. The opposition is so strong that Prime
Minister Begum Khaleda Zia will not even ask Parliament
to vote on a motion for deployment.

Another senior diplomat from Bangladesh says the
recently passed U.N. resolution authorizing a force for
Iraq did not quiet opposition in Bangladesh.

Many of the country’s leaders have said they want all
Islamic nations to reach a consensus on sending troops
to Iraq before any country sends them.

Portugal had told the Pentagon it would consider sending
a limited number of combat forces once the U.N.
resolution authorizing a force was approved. Portugal
already has 120 police officers in Iraq.

Now, however, the growing violence has convinced
Portuguese officials not to offer combat troops. A
senior Portuguese diplomat says police were a higher
priority in discussions with the Pentagon.

South Korean diplomats said Monday that their country
will send a survey team to Iraq in November to decide
whether they will send combat forces. It is the second
survey team to Iraq sent by South Korea. The diplomats
said the government would make a decision on the
deployment after the team returns.

Previously, some South Korean officials said they might
condition their sending troops to Iraq on how quickly
the Pentagon outlines a planned shift of U.S. troops
away from South Korea’s border with North Korea. The
Pentagon is studying whether to move the bulk of its
38,000 troops in South Korea to the southern tip of the
peninsula.

There are 132,000 U.S. and 10,000 British troops in
Iraq. They are supported by 14,000 troops from 29
nations. The Pentagon hopes to create a new
international force to replace members of the Army’s
101st Airborne and other U.S. troops in February. But no
nation has stepped forward to lead that force, nor have
any nations been publicly identified as promising
troops.

"We’re still in discussion with other countries, which
are also considering sending troops as well as other
types of support," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
told reporters on Oct. 21.

Contributing: Barbara Slavin