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Originally posted by Sgt_Schlappy:

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The industry in germany does not have such a strong lobby as in the US. In my country the politicians take their own decisions based on public opinions.

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I actually agree with you on this. The German public, especially its men, have been castrated of their will to fight...so your government was happy not to have to send troops to Iraq.

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Yes. Yes..in the 50ies up to the 90ies our educational system was pushing fundamentalistic- pacifist attitudes instead of indepenant thinking. The result of course was that a lot of people are ashamed to sing the national enthym to cheer when germany shoots a goal.
But the reunification, the establishment of the european union as well as the development of a very own independant german creative cultures has changed a lot.
And germans are indeed proud of their army. In the end we are the best engineers in the world anyway

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Originally posted by isarel:
the USA 100% at the end you can only relie on yourself when things get rough.

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Well said!

And things seem to get rough!

Government to Send Over 5,000 Troops to Mosul

(Source: Korea Information Service; issued Oct. 20, 2003)

South Korean “peacekeeping” troops will likely replace a U.S. division and play the role of maintaining security in Mosul, northern Iraq for one year from early next year, officials here said on Sunday (Oct. 19).

Their remarks come after Seoul on Saturday declared an additional troop dispatch to the war-torn zone, following the passage at the United Nations on a U.S.-led resolution on reconstruction efforts on Iraq.

The government is expected to finalize the size and nature of the troop deployment before South Korea-U.S. ministerial talks scheduled on Nov. 17-18, the officials said.

They said that the troops will be composed of combat soldiers plus engineers and medics, with their total number reaching 5,000 to 6,000.

“The government will form a special team to consult with the U.S. side to set up a framework for the deployment,” Lt. Gen. Cha Young-koo, deputy defense minister said. “Under the framework, the defense ministry or the Joint Chiefs of Staff will form a high-level committee to further discuss the issue with the U.S.”

Cha said the nation will need around two or three months before the deployment after the National Assembly approves the dispatch.

He said the period includes two or three weeks for the call-up and one and a half or two months for training.

However, he remained cautious on the prospect that South Korea would send the troops to Iraq to replace the U.S. 101st Airborne Division deployed in northern Iraq. The U.S. division plans to leave the mountainous region in February and March. “It is premature to predict details on this point,¡”Cha said.

Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan said on Saturday that the government will carefully decide the size and timing of the deployment after collecting opinions from the public and the United States.

Ra Jong-yil, presidential security advisor, also said the administration will dispatch another fact-finding mission to Iraq this month at the earliest. “We will sound out opinions from the public and the political arena in addition to the on-site inspection team,” he said.

Political parties refrained from clarifying their positions on the dispatch and are waiting for the administration on details of the deployment.

(Source: Korea Information Service; issued Oct. 21, 2003)

A study by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) estimated the price tag for sending troops to Iraq would reach $1 billion.

The KDI said on Tuesday the dispatch of up to 7,000 additional troops to Iraq would cost South Korea roughly 960 billion won over the next three years, based on the estimate that expenses for each soldier would total 3.81 million won per month.

The overall cost for sending troops to Iraq would top $1 billion, the KDI predicted, as the South Korean government promised to supply $260 million in aid to Iraq over the next four years.

South Korean companies are expected to earn $400 million-$800 million annually from projects for rebuilding the war-torn country. However, that prediction was based on the assumption that a non-military government would be established in Iraq within the next two years.

According to the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET), South Korean companies will be able to earn such a considerable amount of money if they win 3-5 percent of the post-war restoration projects.

The international rehabilitation of Iraq is a grand project that is expected to generate an annual $15 billion-$20 billion in construction and merchandise import demands for the next decade or even longer, the KIET said.

KIET economist Joo Dong-joo said that the planned dispatch of South Korean troops to Iraq would help South Korean firms secure a number of projects. In addition, he said there is a good chance that construction companies, including Hyundai Engineering & Construction, will be able to collect $1.3 billion in unpaid bills.

However, he also predicted that, due to the troop dispatch to Iraq, South Korean business prospects in other Islamic countries may be damaged.

Meanwhile, Korea Development Institute (KDI) estimated that dispatch of additional 7,000 troops to Iraq would cost South Korea roughly 960 billion won over the next three years, on the assumption that expense for each soldier would cost some 3.81 million won a month.

As the Korean government decided to supply $260 million in aid to Iraq over the next four years, as requested by the U.S., the direct cost for additional dispatch of troops to Iraq would top $1 billion.

The ban on entry to NZ waters of any Nuclear propelled vessal and any vessal that refuses to confirm it is not carrying nuclear weaponry has been referred to elsewhere as the "Kiwi Disease" as it had the possibility of spreading around the world and thereby resticting the number of ports available the US Carrier Groups and Submarines. In the long term this could seriously jeopardise the ability of the US Navy to forward deploy wherever they are needed. And of course trouble starts where the bad guys know you can not respond too.
So New Zealand is still in the US Dog Box and will be for another few decades. The fact that the NZ Defence forces are doing everything they can from their very very limited resources is a credit to those forces rather than the Government.
Just my two cents

(Source: Korea Information Service; issued Oct. 27, 2003)

South Korea is likely to dispatch between 2,000 and 3,000 troops to Iraq, a high-level official of the National Security Council (NSC) said on Monday (Oct. 27).

“We are considering a Polish-style division, as requested by the United States, which consisted of 2,350 troops,” the official said.

“The exact format and type of the envisioned troops has yet to be fixed but we may apply the Polish case at least in terms of size,” he said on condition of anonymity.

The NSC official said he was elaborating on the number of the troops to be sent to the Middle East nation as there has been growing public confusion due to exaggerated reports on the size of the planned dispatch.

“Although there have been reports concerning the size, most of them were inflated,” he said.

Given the capability of the nation’s armed forces, the reported numbers have been too high, the official said, adding that the number will not surpass 3,000.

Washington has called on Seoul to send combatants to help stabilize the war-torn nation, in addition to the already-stationed medics and army engineers.

The NSC decided on Oct. 18 to send more troops but did not reveal details on the specific size, the timing or whether they would include the requested combat units.

The official said the timing and type of the troops dispatch will be determined in consideration of public opinion and national interests.

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I predict Japan will at least match this number.

I was under the impression japan couldnt send ****

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Originally posted by BrianCW:
I was under the impression japan couldnt send ****

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Japan to Send Cash and Troops to Iraq

Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, October 11, 2003

TOKYO Oct. 10 -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will make a direct pledge to President Bush of both money and troops for Iraq when the two leaders meet in Tokyo next week, Japanese government sources said Friday.

Koizumi's offer to Bush, who will kick off a swing through Asia with a stop in Japan on Oct. 17, is designed to end lingering U.S. doubts about Japan's commitment to the U.S.-led effort in Iraq. Koizumi was one of the few Asian leaders to clearly support the war, and his administration has pledged on several occasions to chip in both troops and money.

But with polls showing the Japanese people largely opposed to what would be Japan's most significant military operation since World War II -- and with Koizumi in the midst of a reelection campaign -- many observers have openly wondered whether he would press ahead with those plans.

Koizumi will settle that issue next week with a definitive yes, officials say.

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AP News
Sunday October 19, 2003

Japan to Send Non-Combat Troops to Iraq


Japan is preparing to send non-combat troops to Iraq by the end of the year to help with reconstruction, a top government official said Sunday.

Fukushiro Nukaga, chairman of the Policy Research Council of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, made the announcment during a news program on public broadcaster NHK. Nukaga is the chief policy planner for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

"There is a substantial need for rebuilding infrastructure in southeastern Iraq, and we want to send troops one way or another to get involved in the operation," Nukaga said.

Nukaga said a small team will be sent initially to establish an operations base, with more troops to follow.

They would be the first Japanese ground troops to help with the Iraq effort. Japanese naval ships have already been helping transport supplies for U.S.-led forces in the Middle East.

Nukaga didn't elaborate on exactly when the troops would go, or how many there would be.

However, a national newspaper, the Yomiuri, on Sunday said Japan has decided to send three C-130 military transport aircraft and 150 soldiers to Kuwait in December to fly supply runs for U.S.-led forces in Iraq. The main group of 550 soldiers would follow early next year to provide water, electricity and medical supplies to local residents, as well as U.S. and British forces, it said.

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Not as much as I would have liked, but its a start...and could grow over the next 6-12 months.

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The ban on entry to NZ waters of any Nuclear propelled vessal and any vessal that refuses to confirm it is not carrying nuclear weaponry has been referred to elsewhere as the "Kiwi Disease" as it had the possibility of spreading around the world and thereby resticting the number of ports available the US Carrier Groups and Submarines. In the long term this could seriously jeopardise the ability of the US Navy to forward deploy wherever they are needed. And of course trouble starts where the bad guys know you can not respond too.
So New Zealand is still in the US Dog Box and will be for another few decades. The fact that the NZ Defence forces are doing everything they can from their very very limited resources is a credit to those forces rather than the Government.
Just my two cents

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Bush Snr withdrew tactic nuclear from the Navy..so why still the problem? The US doesn't like being told what to do.

Israel, China To Revive Ties

DefenseNews.com Dec 15, 2003

Israel and China are beginning to revive a broad-based strategic cooperative agenda that has languished since Tel Aviv abruptly terminated an estimated $1 billion Phalcon spy plane deal with Beijing in July 2000.

After more than three years of intensive efforts here, Israeli officials say the two sides are ready to resume high-level visits, information exchanges, counterterror cooperation and defense trade.

99%s
UK
Australia
Poland
Japan
S. Korea
Taiwan


90%s
Italy
Spain
Denmark
Hungary
Czech Rep
Bulgaria
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
The 3 Baltic States (Lit, Lat & Estn)
Philippines
Thailand
Singapore
Qatar


50%s
Israel
Canada*
Germany*
Norway
Netherlands
Portugal
Greece
Turkey
India
Pakistan
Kuwait
U.A.E.
Oman
Jordan

*For their contribution in Afghanistan only.

Thailand is 100% at our back.
The Taksin Government is giving total and complete co-operation in the War on Terror'

The lease of a critical base at Satahip to transfer of combat and transport aircraft from the Pacific to the Midddle East
and
The Announcement by President Bush that Thailand is as important to the US as any NATO Member.

Hmmm.. Denmark 90%.
Well we where in Afhanistan from day one, and in Iraq too from day one.
We have been there 100% on politics since 911, and we continue to build up in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, ain´t big (VA Natl Guard is larger than our total defence), and I wish we could do more, but fair, we should be 99%.
Thank you.
(AD in Kosovo, going AD in Afghanistan 2004)

Denmark, huh? I wasn't aware they had been with us too much.. I was looking at Poland, Britain, Spain, Italy and a few of those former soviet states as being our only friends in Europe now, but hey, if I'm wrong, then welcome to the party, Denmark. We won't forget the commitments and sacrifices of our friends and allies. Hopefully not, anyway.

I agree that both of them are strong allies...I'm not sure they rate as high as the UK or Japan...but I will create a new 95% category for them.


99%s
UK
Australia
Poland
Japan
S. Korea
Taiwan


95%s
Denmark
Thailand
Singapore


90%s
Italy
Spain
Hungary
Czech Rep
Bulgaria
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
The 3 Baltic States (Lit, Lat & Estn)
Philippines
Kuwait
Qatar


50%s
Israel
Canada*
Germany*
Norway
Netherlands
Portugal
Greece
Turkey
India
Pakistan
U.A.E.
Oman
Jordan

*For their contribution in Afghanistan primarily.

Reconsider Sgt
The Thai's have participated in Afghanistan and in Iraq Task Froce 976 is composed of combat engineers -rebuilding road - Medical Detachment and a Special Forces Detachment.

Two Thais were killed defending Camp Lima againt a truck bomb. If they had not opened fire, Camp Lima would have been Devastated.

Their bodies arrive here today.

The Mission of Task Force ends in March when they will be replaced with 500 Combat Engineers from RTA Ratachaburi.

In the War in Iraq and the War on Terror, Thailand is with us 100%.

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Originally posted by campjwIII:
Reconsider Sgt

...

In the War in Iraq and the War on Terror, Thailand is with us 100%.

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Oh...okay.


99%s
UK
Australia
Poland
Japan
S. Korea
Taiwan
Thailand


95%s
Denmark
Singapore


90%s
Italy
Spain
Hungary
Czech Rep
Bulgaria
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
The 3 Baltic States (Lit, Lat & Estn)
Philippines
Kuwait
Qatar


50%s
Israel
Canada*
Germany*
Norway
Netherlands
Portugal
Greece
Turkey
India
Pakistan
U.A.E.
Oman
Jordan

*For their contribution in Afghanistan primarily.

Another reason why Canada had to make the list...this may possibly even move them up a notch.

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Canada-U.S. Exchange Letters on Missile Defence

(Source: Canadian Department of National Defence; issued Jan. 15, 2004)

OTTAWA --- Minister of National Defence, the Honourable David Pratt and Foreign Affairs Minister, the Honourable Bill Graham today announced that Canada and the United States have exchanged letters regarding cooperation in ballistic missile defense.

“This step will help to move forward discussions on possible Canadian participation in the missile defense of North America,” said Mr. Pratt. “It sets out a clear path for future negotiations, and will allow Canada to have access to the information about missile defense that we will need to make a decision on participation.”

“Canada has had a very successful partnership with the United States in defending North America, and we are always looking at ways to enhance this relationship,” said Minister Graham. “A decision on Canada’s participation in the missile defense program will be made when talks are completed, and after Parliament has been consulted.”