Left Alone At The Altar

Well, looks like it might be a bit tougher to support this surge:

LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to announce a timetable for withdrawal of British troops from Iraq today, with around 1,500 set to return home in the coming weeks.

In a move the Bush administration greeted as "a sign of success," Blair will tell the House of Commons a total of about 3,000 British soldiers will leave southern Iraq by year end if security there is sufficient, British media reported, quoting unnamed government officials. The plan could alter if the situation worsened on the ground

Clearly, however, there's been some arm twisting:

LONDON -- Britain said Monday (26.11.2006) it expects to withdraw thousands of its 7,000 military personnel from Iraq by the end of next year, while Poland and Italy announced the impending withdrawal of their remaining troops.

Yah huh. Let's take a quick recap of the Coaltion, shall we?

Italy? Gone.
Australia? Going. Obama is right. Howard should shut his yap about timetables.
Slovaks? Gone.
South Korea? Going.
Denmark? Plucky little country stuck it out longer than expected, especially in the face of the massive Muslim demonstrations over the cartoon furor, but going.
Romania? Going.
Latvia? Going.
Lithuania? Well, they set a timetable for withdrawal for next year, so going.
Poland? Going.

Staying?
Czech Republic (100 policemen)
Armenia (46 peacekeepers)
Estonia (40 soldiers)
Japan (600 humanitarian aid workers)
Palau. I think they're one American-born soldier is sticking it out.

So there you have it. We're the only country in the world dumb enough to send MORE troops to this powderkeg...and now even Tony Blair is getting out while he can.

Bush
Iraq