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IRAQ: And then there were none...

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The coalition of the willing has become the coalition of the dwindling in Iraq, where non-U.S. forces now number about 7,000 compared with the 146,000 American troops here. More than half the non-U.S. troops are British, with Poland, Romania and South Korea being the other main providers to a multinational force that at its height numbered 49 countries and more than 200,000 troops.

As their numbers decline, U.S. officials are portraying the trend as a sign of success in Iraq, where security is better and Iraqi security forces are increasing in number. But the dwindling numbers also are a reflection of unrest elsewhere, and of the unpopularity of the war in countries that have made deep cuts in troop levels here or pulled out altogether. They include Italy, Spain, Australia and Britain, which had planned to drop to about 2,500 troops earlier this year until fighting in the southern city of Basra (which had been British forces’ area of responsibility) erupted last spring. Now Britain has about 4,000 troops.

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The latest departure was unexpected and sharp: 2,000 Georgian troops, who were yanked out so they could defend their country in its August conflict with Russia. Earlier this month, Japan announced that it would end its Iraq mission, which has involved flying goods and personnel into the country. Poland and Australia are expected to decrease their forces this year or pull out altogether.

Determining how many countries contribute how many troops to the Iraq effort is virtually impossible without the luxury of having the personal phone numbers of various defense chiefs around the world. The U.S. military’s media desk in Baghdad said in response to an e-mailed query that 30 countries make up the total force of 153,000 troops in Iraq, but it advised The Times to contact individual countries to find out how many forces they have here. It did not list the participating countries.

The latest Iraq status report from the U.S. State Department, which issues such reports weekly, says 25 countries have troops in Iraq, but its list includes the departed Georgians.

At a briefing in Washington earlier this week, a senior U.S. official said the coalition will shrink ‘to a handful of countries’ in the next 90 days or so, but no list was given.

The remaining coalition members are a diverse group indeed, and most maintain fewer than 100 troops in Iraq. Still, they provide crucial support and logistical backup services. They range from Azerbaijan to Mongolia and Tonga, whose duty includes guarding the entrance to the Al Faw Palace once used by Saddam Hussein and now occupied by top generals and officers of U.S. forces. In fact, a fourth contingent of Tongan troops begins a six-month deployment in Iraq this month.

At least 22 countries have lost soldiers in Iraq, according to www.icasualties.org, which maintains a list here. Altogether, the monitoring site says 4,469 troops have died in Iraq, including 4,155 Americans.

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--Tina Susman in Baghdad

Graphic: www.icasualties.org

P.S. The Los Angeles Times issues a free daily newsletter with the latest headlines from the Middle East, as well as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can subscribe by logging in at the website here, clicking on the box for ‘L.A. Times updates,’ and then clicking on the ‘World: Mideast’ box.

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