Iceland to pull lone soldier out of Iraq.
In his Iraq speech last night, President Bush took a moment to thank “the 36 nations who have troops on the ground in Iraq.” TPMmuckraker’s Spencer Ackerman has been counting coalition members with troops on the ground and has been able to find only 34 — many of whom have just a minor presence in Iraq. In his search, Ackerman discovered that the total is about to drop to 33: Next month, Iceland is pulling out its one lone soldier.
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One could say support is melting away.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:18 pmWhy the hell would you have one soldier? I could understand a platoon or something but a single soldier?
September 14th, 2007 at 4:23 pmIs Iceland all-white? If so, why didn’t more than one person go to battle?
September 14th, 2007 at 4:24 pmYou all should have done a little research before you laid out your arguments, as I already destroyed it last nite.
Pass it on to your Chrissy Matthews and KO. They also known for speaking before they think. Now that’s “progressive”.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:24 pmDamn you, VigdÃs Finnbogadóttir!
September 14th, 2007 at 4:25 pmmaybe he’s a linguist?
September 14th, 2007 at 4:25 pmphinga bheng, it was a new day yesterday, but it’s an old day now.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:26 pmIm gonna ignore my hijacker and go on topic:
hahahahaha.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:27 pmDon’t forget Poland!
September 14th, 2007 at 4:27 pmMission accomplished, Brynjúlfur! Welcome home!
September 14th, 2007 at 4:27 pm“Hey, is Ed still over in Iraq? Maybe we should bring him home.”
September 14th, 2007 at 4:28 pmRe # 9
And Alberto Burlesconi! What about Alberto Burlesconi?
September 14th, 2007 at 4:28 pmthat’s it
the straw that broke the camel’s back
bring ‘em all home now
September 14th, 2007 at 4:28 pmTeeeheeee– ‘Coalition of The Piddling’
September 14th, 2007 at 4:29 pmFrom MSNBC… Even with cutbacks promised by President Bush, the United States may wind up with thousands more troops in Iraq next summer than before the buildup of forces he ordered in January.
Bush approved the redeployment of five Army combat brigades and three Marine contingents between now and July 2008, but that does not account for thousands of support forces — including military police and an Army combat aviation brigade — that were sent as “enablers” and that apparently will stay longer.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:31 pmJust kidding : )
No namejacker on board. Gothcha!
September 14th, 2007 at 4:31 pmThere goes the care packages of pickled herring that the two guys from Costa Rica used to look forward to sharing in.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:32 pmDid Bush count this one guy as part of the Nations involved. Because of one guy?
Rove’s math has survived and is living in Bush’ head.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:32 pmI think ONE soldier represents Iceland’s entire armed forces.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:32 pm“Iceland to pull lone soldier out of Iraq”
….and he was the iceberg lookout for the Persian Gulf
September 14th, 2007 at 4:32 pmHe was an Army of One.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:33 pmJuan, didn’t I tell you to cool it? Could you ever like ONE white man in your life?
I know it’s not possible to be racist towards a white person, but I’m asking you to give to charity, just for today.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:34 pmYa, veel hav yur skiiis vaxed und vaiting in der rack by dur hot springs, Ya sure, Yoo betcha!
September 14th, 2007 at 4:34 pm#5… you mean Iceland’s lone soldier is a woman? Sweet! She’s probably returning home to keep the Icelandic borders safe from marauding whales. Whoever this brave soldier is, they will be leaving with a wonderful parting gift–a lifetime supply of Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:34 pmIceland is full of crackers.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:34 pmI’ll show you “charity,” Zoo. ; )
September 14th, 2007 at 4:35 pm1? 36? 33? What does it matter? Bush doesn’t do math. He just makes stuff up and the fools who worship him continue to believe.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:35 pmSan Marco will be next to withdraw!
September 14th, 2007 at 4:38 pmone Iraqi soldier…. somewhere… must have stood up?
September 14th, 2007 at 4:41 pmIceland is full of crackers.
Comment by Juan C — September 14, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
I like crackers. Do they have cheese too?
September 14th, 2007 at 4:43 pmIceland is safe. Have you ever seen a raghead on a snow board?
September 14th, 2007 at 4:44 pmIt is very simple. President Bush has told the troops in Iraq that they will not come home until they accomplish his mission. All he wants them to do is make all the Iraqi politicians fall in love, and join in a central government of perpetual peace and everlasting accord.
That is not too much to ask of a bunch of 19 years old American High School Grads, is it! Some one has to handle the heavy lifting on the global diplomatic side, and since the USA apparently no longer has a Secretary of State,or even a Secretary of Defense, why not have the military kids do it.
Then we can bring them all back home, and have them solve all our major domestic problems.
OK, listen up all you young military guys and gals. You heard your commander in chief. Get going. Find out if al-Maliki and al-Sadr have hugged a Sunni today. Do not expect Condi Rice and Ryan Croker to pitch in. What do you think they are?, some kind of diplomats!.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:45 pmice, ice baby!
September 14th, 2007 at 4:47 pmHave you ever seen a raghead on a snow board?
Comment by Chubbytherepublican
Sure, all the time. Raggy heads, raggy pants, raggy beards, raggy hair, raggy baggy sweaters.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:48 pmCome to Pagosa Springs this winter!
Iceland is safe. Have you ever seen a raghead on a snow board?
Comment by Chubbytherepublican — September 14, 2007 @ 4:44 pm
What’s a raghead?
September 14th, 2007 at 4:48 pmOH NO!!! - ICELAND IS PULLING OUT!!! - quick - more troops - a second surge is needed!!!
September 14th, 2007 at 4:51 pmIceland is safe. Have you ever seen a r-ghead on a snow board?
Comment by Chubbytherepublican — September 14, 2007 @ 4:44 pm
In an effort to end your stereotyping, please note there are many middle-easterners who enjoy snowboarding:
http://www.abc-of-snowboarding.com/ middle-east/ united-arab-emirates/
September 14th, 2007 at 4:52 pmYeah but he is being replaced by one guy from San Lorenzo whose got a real weapon of mass destruction
September 14th, 2007 at 4:57 pmFrom Talking Points Memo:
The Icelandic ‘Contingent’
It just about epitomizes the President’s speech last night. One of the purported 36 coalition nations is Iceland, whose “contingent” to Iraq consists of a single soldier in Baghdad whose primary responsibility is as a media representative. To NATO’s disappointment, Iceland is pulling that one soldier as of October 1. You can’t make this stuff up.
We still haven’t managed to figure out how the President’s math gets him to 36 nations in the coalition. But whatever the number, it will be minus one when a single Icelander heads home in a couple of weeks.
Late Update: TPM Reader EF points out that Iceland doesn’t even have a formally constituted military, which the CIA World Fact Book confirms. The lone Icelander is a member of the Icelandic Crisis Response Unit. Calling him a soldier may be overstating matters.
–David Kurtz
September 14th, 2007 at 5:00 pmMaybe he counted Iraq as one of the 36?
So then maybe that last 36th is…. um.
September 14th, 2007 at 5:02 pmAhh…. the coalition of the willing.
What was that the trolls were saying last night? What a stong coalition it is?
LoL.
ONE SOLDIER.
Indeed Iceland is “An Army of One”.
LMAO
September 14th, 2007 at 5:04 pmAs it turns out he was the lone member of the much feared StrikeForce Narwhal.
September 14th, 2007 at 5:04 pm33 Countries is a LARGE number. How many countries even have a military capable of helping the international community? My guess is no more the 70.
September 14th, 2007 at 5:08 pm#43:
Yeah… but that’s not 36 like the president said. AND many of those lave less than 500 personnel, and many aren’t even COMBAT troops, ie: Iceland’s ONE solider.
September 14th, 2007 at 5:11 pmLt. Lutefisk, W.M.D.
September 14th, 2007 at 5:14 pmWho was this dude, translator for Bjork songs reporting to General Patraeus?
September 14th, 2007 at 5:17 pmwhy do the icelanders hate our troops?
September 14th, 2007 at 5:17 pmShe’ll get home just in time to pack up before the ice cap melts.
September 14th, 2007 at 5:26 pmCut n’ runner
September 14th, 2007 at 5:34 pmShe can even take the Northwest Passage home, it’s open for the first time in recorded history.
September 14th, 2007 at 5:51 pmPass it on to your Chrissy Matthews and KO. They also known for speaking before they think. Now that’s “progressiveâ€.
Comment by phinga bheng — September 14, 2007 @ 4:24 pm
1… “ONE”… 1 soldier. The “Coalition of the Willing’…
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…
I’m sure you’ve changed your pantyhose by now, and probably more than once, Badda bing. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA… whew… thanx fer tha laff, pal!
September 14th, 2007 at 5:55 pmOops, W. meant to say 36 nations have troop on the ground.
September 14th, 2007 at 5:56 pmI’m an Icelander and want to explain our situation. We Icelanders only count 300,000. We don´t have an army. Our police men don’t even carry guns. But we are in the Nato because our geographic position was important in the cold war.
Regarding the so called ‘the coalition of the willing’ list. Our administration was never asked if we wanted to be on a list of any kind linked to the Iraq war. It is a creation of the Bush administration to spin the numbers (better to have list of 36 countries than 35).
I can safely say that 99.9% of Icelanders don’t want to have anything to do with this war.
September 14th, 2007 at 5:57 pmSomeone should check ‘n see if “F Troop” is over there…
September 14th, 2007 at 5:57 pmYeah, but how many billion has Iceland pissed down the Iraq hole?
September 14th, 2007 at 5:58 pmComment by Kristinn Gudni — September 14, 2007 @ 5:57 pm
Smart! Do you have health care? Is it hard to immigrate to Iceland?
September 14th, 2007 at 6:00 pmI can safely say that 99.9% of Icelanders don’t want to have anything to do with this war.
Comment by Kristinn Gudni — September 14, 2007 @ 5:57 pm
This would explain the enormous military contingent sent…
September 14th, 2007 at 6:04 pmThe Onion foresaw the lone soldier of a coalition partner in 2003, only they got the country wrong:
Kuwait Deploys Troop
September 14th, 2007 at 6:05 pmThis would explain the enormous military contingent sent…
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity — September 14, 2007 @ 6:04 pm
The one person in Iceland that actually thought invading and occupying Iraq was a good idea has since changed his mind and is going home.
September 14th, 2007 at 6:07 pmThe one person in Iceland that actually thought invading and occupying Iraq was a good idea has since changed his mind and is going home.
Comment by jb — September 14, 2007 @ 6:07 pm
Must be too hard to get ice…
September 14th, 2007 at 6:24 pmHope he stays alive long enough to get pulled out of that sink hole.
September 14th, 2007 at 6:55 pmJuan C
I showed my hispanic son-in-law some of your posts Juan C, and well he had a few words about people like you….I will make it clean for you though…you’re a _____, _______, ___, racist and you should ______ ______ and then __ ____ yourself.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:03 pm#57
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity — September 14, 2007 @ 6:04 pm
One soldier is about all Iceland could support anyway! The one “soldier” isn’t even a soldier, like Al Gore,…they are a war correspondent. LOL!
The U.S. military defends Iceland and it’s citizens.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/dod/idf.htm
September 14th, 2007 at 8:12 pmThis thread is hilarious. It is interesting that the trolls can’t defend their prez when he’s caught in an outright lie. And even the number 33 is very misleading. Roger_x2’s attempt to defend Bush is absolutely incredible.
#62. Juan C is being name=jacked. He’s one of our better posters here and seems like a great guy.
September 14th, 2007 at 10:10 pmThere used to be 2 in Iraq, but Iceland withdrew its troops to pre-surge levels.
September 14th, 2007 at 10:41 pmAnd LOL this is the funniest Iraq war comment thread I’ve ever read… I’m glad we can still joke around like this… cuz otherwise we’d be crying =’(
September 14th, 2007 at 10:48 pmThought this would help
The Coalition of the Willing and Vilnius Group in March-April 2003
Europe Asia The Americas Other
Western Europe:
United Kingdom
Spain
Portugal
Denmark
Netherlands
Iceland
Italy
Baltic States:
Estonia #
Latvia #
Lithuania #
Central Europe:
Poland
Czech Republic
Slovakia #
Hungary
Balkans:
Albania #
Macedonia #
Romania #
Bulgaria #
Turkey
Croatia #
Slovenia #
Eastern Europe
Ukraine
Japan
South Korea
Singapore
Philippines
Afghanistan
Azerbaijan
Uzbekistan
Georgia
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Solomon Islands
Mongolia
Palau
Tonga North America:
United States of America
South and Central America:
El Salvador
Colombia
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Honduras ANZ:
Australia
Middle East:
Kuwait
Africa:
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Uganda
Rwanda
Angola
States with personnel in Iraq as part of the Coalition.
# Vilnius Group Statement signatories. (Note: Slovenia and Croatia are also signatories, but were not part of the Coalition)
Note: Turkey moved troops into Iraq independently of Coalition forces. Taiwan and Israel both supported military action, however for diplomatic reasons neither was placed on the list.
Malta and Cyprus were signatories to earlier statements in favour of action against Iraq.
America also claimed that about a dozen other countries had also joined the Coalition in confidence. The increase in the number of participants in the post-war phase supports this claim.
The Coalition of the Willing, The Vilnius Group and countries contributing troops in March 2004
Europe Asia The Americas Other
Western Europe:
United Kingdom
Spain
Portugal
Denmark
Norway
Netherlands
Iceland
Italy
Baltic States:
Estonia #
Latvia #
Lithuania #
Central Europe:
Poland
Czech Republic
Slovakia #
Hungary
Balkans:
Albania #
Macedonia #
Romania #
Bulgaria #
Turkey
Croatia #
Slovenia #
Eastern Europe
Ukraine
Moldova
Japan
South Korea
Singapore
Philippines
Afghanistan
Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
Azerbaijan
Georgia
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Solomon Islands
Mongolia
Palau
Tonga
Thailand North America:
United States of America
South and Central America:
El Salvador
Colombia
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Honduras ANZ:
Australia
New Zealand
Middle East:
Kuwait
Africa:
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Uganda
Rwanda
Angola
States with personnel in Iraq as part of the Coalition.
Countries in which Islam is the primary religion.
# Vilnius Group Statement signatories. (Note: Slovenia and Croatia are also signatories, but were not part of the Coalition).
Spain and Honduras are coloured red because they signalled in March 2004 that they would not renew their troop commitments in June 2004 unless a UN mandate was forthcoming. Note that other changes have occurred since then. More recent information on Latin American contributors is available here
Troop Contingents in Iraq by Country of Origin: March 2004
Iraq Troop numbers March 2004
Country Troops Per 100000
population Per 1000
military
1 USA 130,000 47.7 94.8
2 United Kingdom 9,000 15.2 42.4
3 Italy 3,000 5.3 11.3
4 Poland 2,460 6.7 10.2
5 Ukraine 1,600 3.2 5.1
6 Spain * 1,300 3.3 7.0
7 Netherlands 1,100 7.0 19.5
8 Australia 800 4.3 14.5
9 Romania 700 3.1 3.4
10 Bulgaria 480 5.9 5.9
11 Thailand 440 0.7 1.4
12 Denmark 420 7.8 17.3
13 Honduras * 368 6.1 5.4
14 El Salvador 361 6.2 14.7
15 Dominican Republic 302 3.7 12.3
16 Hungary 300 2.9 6.9
17 Japan 240 0.2 1.0
18 Norway 179 4.0 5.8
19 Mongolia 160 6.1 17.6
20 Azerbaijan 150 1.9 2.1
21 Portugal 128 1.3 2.6
22 Latvia 120 5.1 20.9
23 Lithuania 118 3.3 9.7
24 Slovakia 102 1.9 2.3
25 Czech Republic 80 0.8 1.4
26 Philippines 80 0.1 0.7
27 Albania 70 2.1 7.0 **
28 Georgia 70 1.4 2.7
29 New Zealand 61 1.7 6.4
30 Moldova 50 1.1 4.7
31 Macedonia 37 1.8 2.3
32 Estonia 31 2.2 6.5
33 Canada ^ 31^
34 Kazakhstan 25 0.1 0.4
Sources: The Australian, 17th March 2004. SBS World Guide, ninth edition, 2001.
Top ten by proportion of population
Country Troops Proportion
1 USA 130,000 47.7
2 United Kingdom 9,000 15.2
3 Denmark 420 7.8
4 Netherlands 1,100 7.0
5 Poland 2,460 6.7
6 El Salvador 361 6.2
7 Honduras * 368 6.1
8 Mongolia 160 6.1
9 Bulgaria 480 5.9
10 Italy 3,000 5.3
Top ten by proportion of military
September 16th, 2007 at 2:08 amCountry Troops Proportion
1 USA 130,000 94.8
2 Honduras * 368 *** 44.3
3 United Kingdom 9,000 42.4
4 Latvia 120 20.9
5 Netherlands 1,100 19.5
6 Mongolia 160 17.6
7 Denmark 420 17.3
8 El Salvador 361 14.7
9 Australia 800 14.5
10 Dominican Republic 302 12.3
Go to:
http://www.pwhce.org/willing.html#troops
for more!
September 16th, 2007 at 2:09 am