WASHINGTON, July 15: The Bush administration has warned its allies not to leave the US-led coalition as it could encourage terrorist attacks in Iraq.
"We think withdrawal sends the wrong signal and that it is important for people to stand up to terrorists and not allow them to change our behaviour," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters.
An influential US newspaper, Washington Post, also supports the assertion saying that departures from the coalition could encourage further abductions or attacks to heighten the psychological pressure and undermine the US-led mission.
Despite these warnings, the Bush administration is finding it difficult to hold together the 32-nation coalition deployed in Iraq as attacks on the coalition forces increase.
The coalition has provided 22,000 soldiers to back more than 140,000 US troops struggling to stabilize postwar Iraq. In a front-page article on Thursday, the Post reports that four nations have already left the US-led coalition while four others are due to leave by September.
Even among those who apparently want to stay, several have expressed the desire to leave Iraq before the political transition is complete next year. Norway quietly pulled out its 155 military engineers this month, leaving behind only about 15 personnel to assist a new Nato-coordinated effort to help train and equip Iraqi security forces.
New Zealand intends to pull out its 60 engineers by September, while Thailand plans to withdraw its more than 450 troops that same month. The Netherlands is likely to pull out next spring after the first of three Iraqi elections, while Polish military officials told the Pentagon that Poland's large contingent will probably leave in mid-2005.
Several participating countries sent fewer than 100 troops. In other cases, forces diminished significantly over time. Moldova's contingent is the smallest - down to 12 from 42. Singapore has quietly reduced its presence from 191 to 33.
The symbolic importance of international participation is vital for the Bush administration in an election year when an increasingly large number of Americans are questioning the wisdom behind the decision to invade Iraq.
The paper, however, quotes a senior Bush administration official as saying that the coalition is holding and several nations have renewed their commitments to keep their troops in Iraq, such as Britain and Italy.
"Their support has solidified as the political process has come to pass," said Lincoln Bloomfield, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. El Salvador has renewed its commitment of 380 troops. Lithuania renewed its 105-troop commitment last week.
South Korea is increasing its force from 600 to 3,700, while Azerbaijan offered an additional 250 soldiers to join the 150 already in Iraq. Georgia is willing to increase its troops from 159 to more than 400. Australia has agreed to increase its troops to 880.
But the paper points out that political opposition to troop deployment is growing even in the countries that are considered strong US allies. In Italy, the proposal to extend the stay of Italian troops in Iraq was adopted this week only by a thin margin, 257 to 207.
In Hungary, opposition parties have increased their call for a withdrawal of troops and the hostage taking has also had an adverse affect on public opinion in Japan, South Korea, Poland, Italy, Bulgaria and the Philippines.
