Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

Opposition Azeri leader receives support in France

The Messenger, Georgia
Feb 18 2005

Azeri newspaper Ekho. Baku reports that leader of Azerbaijan’s
opposition Popular Front Party, Ali Kerimli, visited several foreign
countries recently, including France.

Within the framework of the Paris meetings, Kerimli visited the
lower chamber of the French Parliament. MPs also met with Kerimli
and were primarily interested in the situation in Azerbaijan and the
run-up to the new parliamentary elections in the country. According
to the paper, Kerimli spoke about the devotion of the Azeri people
to democratic reforms.

In addition French MPs were interested in the influence of the events
in Georgia and Ukraine on Azerbaijan. They also asked about the
potential for democratic forces and opposition in the country. The
paper writes that Kerimli replied that the majority of Azeri people
prefer democracy and the lifestyle of freedom.

“Sooner or later, democracy in the country will be restored,” stressed
Kerimli and called on the French politicians to render support to
democratic changes and reforms in Azerbaijan.

The settlement of the Karabakh conflict was addressed during a meeting
between Kerimli and the French co-chairman of the Minsk Group of the
OSCE, Bernard Fassie. Fassie stated that he supports the continuation
of negotiations between the ministers of foreign affairs of the two
opposing sides. He also noted that the Minsk group will support any
compromise between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Kerimli replied that the
conflict should be solved only within the framework of territorial
integrity and international laws.

PRESS RELEASE

Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

IN HIS REPORT TO THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
OF THE WCC HIS HOLINESS CALLED FOR THE REDISCOVERY OF THE CHUCRH’S HEALING
MINISTRY

In his annual report to the Central Committee of the World Council of
Churches His Holiness Aram I, the Moderator of the WCC, focused his
reflections on the healing ministry of the church. He said: “The dawn of the
21st century is marked by growing uncertainty and anxiety. The world in
which we live is broken, a world dominated by evil forces that are
generating a culture of violence and hopelessness. The world is in desperate
need of healing in almost all spheres of human life”. The renewed concern
and awareness towards healing in a new world context raises for the
churches, His Holiness said, “fundamental theological, missiological,
ethical and pastoral questions that require critical scrutiny”.

Catholicos Aram I started his theological and missiological analysis by
healing as the “transforming, empowering and reconciling missionary action
of the church”. He referred to healing as a vital dimension of the Church’s
ministry and an ecumenical priority. Speaking about healing as a missionary
concern, His Holiness said that “healing is an ontological and not a
functional reality. It pertains to the essence of the Church”. He emphasized
the importance of “holistic approach” to healing and called for the
integration of “scientific healing” and “divine healing”.

Catholicos Aram I developed his reflections under three major healings:
healing as transforming, healing as empowering, healing as reconciling.

1) As transforming power of God “healing is the beginning of new life in
Christ. It is the restoration of the brokenness of life. It is the recovery
of life’s wholeness. The Christian understanding of healing is ultimately
salvation”.

2) Healing is God’s power acting through the Holy Spirit in Jesus
Christ (Lk. 4: 14)”. Human power is “ambiguous and ambivalent”. Catholicos
Aram I called for “a moral criterion in the exercise of power to avoid the
misuse and abuse of power”. Speaking about the importance of transforming
the ambiguity of power, Aram I stressed the need to move “From violent to
non-violent power; from sufficiency to vulnerability of power; from absolute
to accountable power; from centralized to shared power”. Speaking about the
Christian perception of power, he said: “God’s power is revealed through the
powerlessness, God’s powerlessness is life-generating; it is the church’s
source of empowering”.

3) Reconciliation is a significant feature of healing: “The Christ event
is a source and a message of reconciliation” said His Holiness, and focused
his analysis on confession and forgiveness as the way towards
reconciliation. In this context, Aram I considered forgiveness “a gift and a
task”. He said that “forgiving is not ignoring the past. The acceptance of
truth is precondition for forgiveness. And forgiveness must lead to
reconciling memories and it must generate justice”.

His Holiness called the churches to renew their mission of healing: “Today,
the brokenness of the world is being experienced existentially and acutely.
Humanity is caught in a state of deep fear and insecurity. The world is
increasingly becoming confusing and threatening. Lack of mutual trust and
tolerance between communities is polarizing them and making them more
violent. Is there any more credible and urgent mission for the church than
to become a true instrument of God’s healing, transforming, empowering and
reconciling power? Against human power Christ revealed His powerlessness;
against human pride He revealed His humility; against human hatred He
revealed His love; against human divisions He revealed His reconciliation;
against human sin He revealed His salvation; against human death He revealed
His life. This is the way of Christ. This must became the way of His church.
God’s mission calls for a healing church in the midst of a broken,
fragmented and alienated world”.

Read the full text of the WCC Moderator’s report to Central Committee here

##

View printable pictures here:

res63.htm

ictures64.htm

********

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Death of Georgia’s Prime Minister Fuels Speculation
By Anna Arutunyan and Oleg Liakhovich

The Moscow News
14.02.05 Monday

Georgia’s Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania died last week in what appeared
to be a tragic accident involving household gas, but his death has
fueled fantastic speculations surrounding Georgia’s geopolitical
relationship to Russia since President Mikhail Saakashvili came to
power one year ago in a coup much like Ukraine’s.

Zhvania, accompanied by security guards, was visiting his friend,
deputy governor of the Kvema Kartli region Raul Yusupov, in his home
on Wednesday night. After the guards lost touch with him over the
phone, they broke down the door and found the prime minister dead,
slumped over a table set with food and backgammon. His friend was
found dead in the kitchen.

Preliminary investigations linked the deaths with gas poisoning.

Investigators initially suspected a gas leak, while medics determined
the cause of death to be carbon-monoxide poisoning. There were no
signs of violence in the apartment or on Zhvania’s body. But there
was also no evidence of a gas leak in the stove; investigators believe
that carbon monoxide had accumulated in the room.

The Prosecutor General has said that FBI experts will join a team of
forensic analysts to ascertain the circumstances of Zhvania’s death.

Zhvania seemed an unlikely target for an assassination. He had
headed the majority political party under Eduard Shevardnadze’s
administration, and was instrumental in guiding the country through
a bloodless transformation when Shevardnadze was ousted from power
after Saakashvili’s landslide victory. Saakashvili, however, insisted
on territorial integrity for his country, which has suffered years
of war in two breakaway regions – Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia,
meanwhile, has backed the separation of Abkhazia, going as far as to
grant Russian citizenship to its residents. After the Revolution of
Roses, the conflict in the regions escalated, heightening tensions
between Russia and the former Soviet state.

In light of this, Georgian parliamentarian Amiran Shalamberidze
said on Thursday that Russia was behind the poisoning, and linked
Zhvania’s death to a car bombing that killed three policemen in Gori,
the Georgian city nearest to South Ossetia, earlier this week. On the
day he died, Zhvania had cautioned against blaming South Ossetians
for the car bombing.

The allegations were immediately blasted, however, by Georgian
officials. Indeed, Zhvania was a moderate who had always tried to
seek a compromise, and had backed Russia for peaceful negotiations
in Abkhazia.

Still, Saakashvili’s slip of the tongue – “About Zhvania’s
murder… I’m sorry, death” during a conference Friday only added
more weight to various allegations. The wife of Yusupov suggested that
the meeting between her husband and Zhvania was initially planned for
another apartment. And former speaker of Shevarnadze’s party, Irina
Sarishvili-Chanturia blatantly implicated the Georgian government in
Zhvania’s death.

If it was a rumor, it never seemed to die. While Russian commentators
speculated on national television that Saakashvili himself may
have been behind Zhvania’s death, the murder of Zhvania’s friend,
Georgian businessman Mamuk Dzhincharadze, in Moscow on Saturday,
only corroborated the speculations.

Dzhincharadze headed the SlavTek oil company in Russia, where he was
a parliamentarian in the Siberian city of Nizhnevartovsk. But he had
also been invited personally by Zhvania to take part in last summer’s
Russia-Georgia business forum.

With over a week to go before the official verdict on Zhvania’s cause
of death, Moscow tabloids, citing law enforcement authorities, rushed
to note that Dzhincharadze had enemies both in Russia and Georgia.

Peace in Karabakh to help ensure stability in Caucasus – FMs
By Valery Litvinenko

ITAR-TASS News Agency , Russia
February 10, 2005 Thursday 12:23 PM Eastern Time

ANKARA, February 10 — Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Azerbaijan –
Abdullah Gul and Elmar Mamedyarov – agree that the Nagorno-Karabakh
settlement is one of the main conditions for peace in the Caucasus.

On Thursday, the foreign ministers held talks on the development of
bilateral relations, world and regional problems. Much attention was
riveted to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, Gul said upon completion of
the talks.

Economic relations between the two friendly countries are developing
dynamically in the last years. The volume of economic ties reached
500 million U.S. dollars, the Turkish minister stressed.

Gul said he is hopeful that the peace talks on this problem will
yield success, which will help normalise relations with Armenia.

Mamedyarov thanked his Turkish counterpart for support that Ankara
provided to Azerbaijan in order to solve this Nagorno-Karabakh
problem. The Azerbaijani minister said he believes that the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan gas pipeline will be commissioned in 2006 or 2007.

According to Anatolia News Agency, the talks focused on Azerbaijan’s
participation in the isolation of the so-called Turkish Republic of
North Cyprus. Gul said, “In this aspect Baku’s policy may become an
example for other countries.” In response the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry stressed that this problem is considered by experts.

RUSSIAN FM TO VISIT ARMENIA FEBRUARY 16

ArmenPress
Feb 10 2005

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, ARMENPRESS: Armenian foreign ministry press
office has confirmed today that Russian foreign minister Sergey
Lavrov will pay a two-day visit to Armenia on February 16 to discuss
the details of Russia’s Putn’s visit to Yerevan later this year. The
ministry said Lavrov’s visit is “the continuation of an intensively
unfolding dialogue between the two countries in an effort to deepen
cooperation between Armenian and Russian foreign ministries, as well
as various-level bilateral ties.”

This will be Lavrov’s first official visit to Armenia where he and
top Armenian officials are expected to discuss a wide array of issues
on of strategic bilateral partnership and interaction between Armenia
and Russia within different international organizations.”

The ministry also said a special focus in the talks will be on the
current pace of Nagorno Karabagh conflict regulation, as well as on
building an atmosphere of mutual understanding in the South Caucasus.

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Feb 9 2005

PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES DELEGATION LED BY EU
SPECIAL ENVOY FOR SOUTH CAUCASUS HEIKKI TALVITIE
[February 09, 2005, 17:32:11]

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received at the Presidential
Palace a European Union delegation led by EU Special Envoy for South
Caucasus Heikki Talvitie, February 9.

Head of the Azerbaijan State expressed satisfaction with the
intensive development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the
European Union, of active participation of the Republic in the EU new
neighboring policy. Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan’s
position related to the problem bases on the norms and principles of
the international law – that is, on territorial integrity and
inviolability of borders.

He stated that the conflicts existing in the former soviet space and
followed by aggressive separatism damage peace and stability in the
region. From this standpoint, the objective position condemning the
Armenian separatism and the aggression of Azerbaijan against
Azerbaijan in the documents of the Council of Europe and other
international organizations is of great significance. Head of the
Azerbaijan State stressed confidence for further cooperation of
Azerbaijan-European Union.

Mr. Talvitie gave high assessment to expansion of the relations
between the European Union and Azerbaijan, stating these relations
will develop and strengthen in the years ahead.

At the meeting, also were discussed various aspects of EU-Azerbaijan
co-op, regional questions and other issues of mutual interest.

ARMENIA SHOULD TAKE STEPS TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH TURKEY, TURKISH FM CONSIDERS

PanArmenian News
Feb 8 2005

08.02.2005 13:51

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia should take steps to normalize relations
with Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul stated it when
answering a question on relations with Armenia asked by US State
Secretary Condoleezza Rice, being in Turkey on visit. “I met both with
the Armenian FM and my Azeri colleague. This question has acquired
a chronic character. However, Armenia has to undertake certain steps
and if it is the case it will see reply actions,” Abdullah Gul said.

Agence France Presse — English
February 4, 2005 Friday 1:01 PM GMT

US consular worker in Armenia arrested for bribe-taking

YEREVAN

A US consular worker in Armenia has been arrested in Washington and
faces up to 15 years in jail for allegedly taking bribes for entrance
visas issued to Armenians wishing to travel to the United States,
officials said Friday.

The US State Department accuses Piotr Zdzislaw Parlej, a US national,
of taking bribes of up to 10,000 dollars (7,700 euros) for issuing
entry visas to unqualified candidates, according to the inidctment.

It is unclear how many improper visas Parlej issued or how much money
in bribes he had received. The United States has a thriving Armenian
diaspora, with families frequently traveling between the two
countries.

Azeri analyst cautiously optimistic about US policy on Karabakh

Yeni Musavat, Baku
3 Feb 05

An Azerbaijani political analyst has said that recent statements by US
President George Bush on resolving conflicts in the post-Soviet area
raise cautious optimism that the USA and Russia will make a serious
effort to find a settlement to the conflict between Azerbaijan and
Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagornyy Karabakh. In an
interview with Yeni Musavat daily, former Azerbaijani foreign minister
Tofiq Zulfuqarov said that events in Georgia and Ukraine showed that
the West was already pursuing an active policy in the region. The
following is the text of Kanan Rovsanoglu report by Azerbaijani
newspaper Yeni Musavat on 3 February headlined “Russia must review its
policy” and subheaded “Tofiq Zulfuqarov ‘The West is already pursuing
its policy in the post-Soviet countries'”; subheadings have been
inserted editorially:

The first month of the year was notable for several interesting
developments concerning Nagornyy Karabakh. US President George Bush
stated in his inaugural speech for a second term of office that he
would try to resolve conflicts in the post-Soviet countries; a
resolution on Nagornyy Karabakh was passed at the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE]; a mission to investigate
cases of settlement in the occupied territories started work; and
finally, the US State Department issued a statement on the
conflict. Is all this enough to say that peace talks will be
intensified in 2005? We tried to find answers to these and similar
questions in an interview with former foreign minister Tofiq
Zulfuqarov.

PACE resolution

[Interviewer] Tofiq bay [form of address], we would like to know what
you think of the PACE resolution? How will this document affect the
negotiations and how will it benefit Azerbaijan?

[Zulfuqarov] Some terms in the part of the resolution dealing with the
assessment of the situation are very positive. Wording is very
important in negotiations and political statements. Wording and terms
used reflect countries’ positions. It is positive that international
organizations use words testifying to the Armenians’ being
occupiers. I also view as positive and in Azerbaijan’s favour that
public representatives of the PACE member states confirm this. PACE is
quite an influential organization in Europe. Therefore, the document
is of great importance.

The resolution does not have a direct link to the negotiations,
because PACE is not involved in the peace process. But in any case a
document that reflects the stance of the European community will
affect the process.

[Interviewer] Some people say that some points in the resolution are
not favourable to Azerbaijan and warn that there will be problems
later on. This is basically a reference to the recommendation that
Azerbaijan should start unconditional negotiations with Karabakh
Armenians… [ellipses as published]

[Zulfuqarov] The Armenian community of Karabakh was a party to the
negotiations under the mandate of the [OSCE] Minsk Group until
1997. But the [Karabakh] Armenians were unhappy with that format and
wanted to be party to the negotiations at the same level as
Azerbaijan. In fact, this recommendation goes against the Armenians,
because the Azerbaijani side has said many times that it is ready to
negotiate with the Armenian community. Such negotiations have been
under way for a long time within the framework of the Minsk Group. At
the moment Azerbaijan is ready for that format. If the discussions are
held according to the Minsk Group format, there cannot be any
conditions attached to contacts with representatives of the Armenian
community.

“Signs”

[Interviewer] Some say that activity in the Karabakh talks and
international attention to the problem will increase in 2005. One
month of the year has gone by. Are you observing any activity?

[Zulfuqarov] There are signs. The most serious are the statements by
US President George Bush and other leaders of the new [US]
administration clearly setting out the main directions of that
country’s foreign policy. The statements stress that conflicts that
have lasted for years in the post-Soviet countries should be
resolved. And the USA wants to cooperate with Russia on that issue.
This is a term containing a very serious meaning. In other words,
Washington wants the Kremlin to have an explicit and unambiguous
attitude to conflicts and their joint resolution. This is more or less
how I understand those statements. It is true that we saw similar
statements before. But now there is more confidence that the USA and
Russian will exert joint efforts to resolve the problem.

[Interviewer] Do you think that the USA will manage to change Russia’s
position and secure its sincere involvement in the resolution of the
conflict?

[Zulfuqarov] Generally, I believe that very serious developments are
taking place in the post-Soviet countries. The changes of power in
Georgia and Ukraine, as well as attitudes to elections in other
republics, show that the West is already pursuing its policy in the
post-Soviet countries. Naturally, democracy and the establishment of
civil society are very important issues. But one of the most important
issues for us is to liberate our occupied territories and see our
refugees return to their lands. From this viewpoint I believe that the
pressure applied by the West on the parties to the conflict and Russia
should yield results, because the Bush administration has said it will
pursue a serious policy to reach the specified goals. This insistence
has proved successful in other regions. Let us hope that the policy on
conflicts will also bear fruit. I do not believe that Russia will opt
for confrontation with the West. Therefore, Moscow will accept the
cooperation to be offered.

“Promising elements”

[Interviewer] However, the Russian co-chairman [of the OSCE Minsk
Group], Yuriy Merzlyakov, has said that the conflict will not be
resolved this year and that there will be some progress in the
negotiations in the years to come. Do you expect any progress shortly?

[Zulfuqarov] The prolongation of the conflict has made the Azerbaijani
public feel somehow accustomed to pessimism. The long absence of any
progress in the negotiations gives certain ground for this. But there
are hopes, too. Among the promising elements, as I have mentioned, are
statements showing the intention of the West to resolve the
problem. The Russian foreign minister [Sergey Lavrov] is visiting
Azerbaijan. It cannot be ruled out that a similar statement will be
made during the visit. Russia is also co-chairing the OSCE Minsk
Group. Like us, they are watching US statements closely. Therefore, I
think some statements are possible during the visit. In any case, I
would like Moscow to issue statements that show a more serious
position on the issue, because the recent statement by Russian
officials that “Azerbaijan and Armenia should resolve the conflict
themselves” cannot be taken seriously.

[Interviewer] The US and Russian presidents are due to meet this
month. Can there be any connection between the visit of the Russian
foreign minister and US plans in the run-up to the meeting?

[Zulfuqarov] The visit is being paid on the eve of the Bratislava
meeting between Bush and [Vladimir] Putin. Reports have been leaked
that conflicts in the post-Soviet countries will be on the agenda of
the meeting. Naturally, there are more conflicts in the South
Caucasus. The visit of the Russian foreign minister to the South
Caucasus before the meeting may be somehow tied to the
issue. Naturally, other issues such as Russian-Azerbaijani relations,
the status of the Caspian and the situation in the region will be
discussed. But I believe that Karabakh will be the focus of the
discussions.

Coalition nations look ahead to exit

Chicago Tribune
Tue Feb 1, 2005

By Stephen J. Hedges, Washington Bureau

Now that Iraq’s election has passed, several of the 28 nations in the
American-led military coalition intend to withdraw their troops, citing
the costs–in lives and money–of operating for nearly two years inside
Iraq.

Before the election, some nations had declared it was time to reduce
their commitments and rely on the Iraqis to play a larger security role.
Now others will be watching closely to see whether the temporary
government elected Sunday can make the improvements in stability that
would allow more coalition nations to draw down their forces.

The Netherlands, for example, will withdraw all but about 300 of its
1,500 troops beginning March 15, allowing time after the election to
lend support.

“Our Ministry of Defense clearly stated that the Netherlands considered
the mission done there,” said Rear Adm. Michiel Hijmans, the Dutch
defense attache in Washington. “We’ve been there 20 months now, and it’s
fairly difficult to continue with this operation.”

Not all of those withdrawing or cutting back say explicitly the decision
was related to the vote. And coalition members aren’t the only countries
viewing the postelection period as a time for reassessment.

Two key opponents of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, France and Germany,
expressed support Monday for the election, and French President Jacques
Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder discussed Iraq in
telephone calls with President Bush (news – web sites).

According to a French spokesman, Chirac told Bush that the conduct of
the election was “satisfactory” and that it was “an important step in
the political reconstruction of Iraq.”

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer praised Iraqis for going to the
polls and said, “The challenge of putting Iraq on a stable democratic
footing is one we must all take on together.”

Neither country, however, gave any indication they were willing to send
troops to Iraq.

Meanwhile, some coalition nations are packing up, either because they
believe the crucial work has been done or because of domestic political
considerations. Ukraine has begun plans to withdraw its 1,600 troops, a
move backed by the new president, Viktor Yushchenko, whose campaign
included a promise to bring the troops home.

In December, 300 Hungarian soldiers left; they had intended to stay
through the election but were ordered home early by Hungary’s parliament.

Poland, which maintained an important military presence in hot spots
south of Baghdad, has decided to cut its force to 1,700 troops from
2,400, and government officials have suggested that more withdrawals
could occur. Thirteen Polish soldiers have been killed in Iraq.

“Late last year our government decided to reconsider the number of
soldiers in Iraq, and again after the elections, depending on the
situation,” said Marek Purowski, Poland’s press attache in Washington.
“The idea is that the Iraqi force and the new elected government should
take over.”

Even Britain, America’s most steadfast ally in Iraq, is looking forward
to a time when its 9,000 troops can leave. British Prime Minister Tony
Blair (news – web sites) told the Financial Times newspaper recently
that he is willing to discuss “timelines” for the withdrawal of British
troops, most of whom work in the more peaceful south.

“Remember, 14 out of the 18 provinces in Iraq are relatively peaceful
and stable,” Blair told the newspaper. “Both ourselves and the Iraqis
want us to leave as soon as possible. The question is: What is `as soon
as possible’? And the answer to that is: When the Iraqi forces have the
capability to do the job.”

The Bush administration often has cited the international coalition of
troops in Iraq as proof of the broad support for the U.S. mission there.
About 152,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Iraq along with
about 25,000 other foreign soldiers, according to a spokesman for the
U.S. military command in Baghdad. Nations involved in the coalition
include Australia, El Salvador (news – web sites), Estonia, Bulgaria,
Portugal and South Korea (news – web sites).

While nations in the coalition have sometimes changed, administration
officials say it has remained a steady force whose presence is
determined by conditions in Iraq, not a timetable.

Any withdrawal is “mission-driven,” said State Department spokesman
Steve Pike. “It may go faster, it may go slower, but it’s going to be
driven, at least from our point of view, by what we do, by what’s
possible, by results.”

For other coalition nations, though, there may be more than the mission
to consider. Hijmans noted that the Netherlands also has 500 troops in
the Balkans, 4,500 committed to a NATO (news – web sites) response force
and 750 assigned to operations in Afghanistan (news – web sites). Two
Dutch soldiers have been killed in Iraq.

“We have to leave because we’re also involved in a lot of operations all
over the world,” Hijmans said. “We’re a small force, and we’re really
stretched.”

John Pike, a military analyst at Globalsecurity.org, said many of the
U.S. partners in Iraq who signed on to help after the Iraq invasion in
2003 did not expect operations to last this long.

“I think a lot of these people figured that it was going to be a limited
tour of duty,” Pike said. “I think they’ve figured they’ve done their
duty, they’ve taken their turn and now that they’ve had elections, let
the Iraqis do it themselves.”

The departures could be significant for the U.S. troops and other forces
remaining in Iraq. They could complicate the task of combating an
anti-American insurgency that has demonstrated the ability to strike
everywhere in the country.

Many of the foreign troops have been intensely involved in training
Iraqi security forces. Their work now will have to be taken up by
remaining U.S. and other foreign forces. Britain, for instance, plans to
shift about 600 soldiers already in Iraq to take up the training of
Iraqi security forces that was being carried out by about 1,100 Dutch
troops. It also will dispatch about 200 fresh troops to Iraq.

“The UK remains committed, like the U.S. remains committed, committed
until the country is stabilized,” said Sam Keayes, a spokesman for
Britain’s Ministry of Defense. “We will remain there at the request of
the government of Iraq.”

As for the Iraqi government, officials have been reluctant to discuss
the departure of foreign forces until more government troops are
trained, an elected government is in place and insurgent-driven violence
is reduced.

Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi spoke recently of a “condition-based”
rather than a “calendar-based” withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign forces.

During a pre-election briefing in Baghdad last Friday, Barham Saleh,
Iraq’s deputy prime minister for national security affairs, said the
size of the foreign force in Iraq is directly related to the level of
violence by Iraqi insurgents.

“We will be in need for international support for some time to come,
because on one hand, we’re dealing with a security threat from
terrorism, but at the same time we’re talking about a tough
neighborhood,” Saleh said.

“The overall security environment of Iraq would require continued
international engagement,” he added. “My hope is that after the
elections and the formation of an elected Iraqi government the security
dynamic will change, and more reliance will be placed on indigenous
Iraqi forces.”

– – –

Coalition ranks thinning

Following Sunday’s elections in Iraq, some nations in the U.S.-led
coalition could reassess their troop commitments.

Total coalition forces: 177,300
U.S.: 152,000
Non-U.S.: 25,300
NON-U.S. FORCES BREAKDOWN
Troops in Iraq as of January
Britain 9,000
S. Korea 3,600
Italy 3,085
Poland* 2,400
Ukraine* 1,600
Netherlands* 1,500
Romania 700
Japan 550
Denmark 496
Bulgaria 485
Others 1,884
*Has announced plans to withdraw some or all troops
Countries that have withdrawn troops
Dominican Republic
Honduras
Hungary
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Philippines
Spain
Thailand
Others, in order of troop strength, are: Australia, El Salvador,
Georgia, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Portugal, Latvia, Czech Republic,
Lithuania, Slovakia, Albania, Estonia, Armenia, Tonga, Macedonia,
Kazakhstan, Moldova and Norway.

Note: Some totals approximate

Sources: GlobalSecurity.org, Tribune reporting, U.S. State Department.

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