Innocent question: How many of the countries in this coalition are contributing military forces, other strategic help (airbases, equipment), or money to the war effort?
The French have said that the US can use their airspace and have said that if Saddam does use WMDs, they’ll be more than happy to come to our aid.
I believe that Jordan and Syria are on the do-not-mention list, as I seem to recall having heard they were supporting the US in this, and then they suddenly stopped being mentioned.
How about Portugal? Their PM was standing up with Bush and Blair and the Spanish guy on Sunday, but now they aren’t on the list.
By request.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Coalition of the Unwilling:
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Bahamas, The
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burma
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China (see note
Comoros
Congo (Brazzaville)
Congo (Kinshasa)
Costa Rica
Côte d’Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia, The
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Holy See
Honduras
India
Indonesia
Iran
Ireland
Israel
Jamaica
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, North
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
New Zealand
Niger
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Portugal
Qatar
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
the Grenadines
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zambia
Zimbabwe
angent
I wonder if Canada would have joined the coalition if not for Bush. Many here have felt he has repeatedly snubbed us and treated us unfairly (softwood lumber, “Arab-looking” Canadian citizens and residents at border crossings).
Please note, I’m not here to whine. I think much of this has been blown out of proportion. I’m just curious how much of our decision is philosophical and how much is political payback. The last poll I saw here showed 38% supported war even without a UN mandate. I imagine our politicians and spin-doctors could have increased that if they had tried.
Um, no. That leaves 85% percent of the world who think that a war in Iraq is a bad idea, or who aren’t taking sides. I’m sure that the number of nations that oppose Gulf War II is greater than the 30 the U.S. has lined up in support but I’m sure it is significantly less than 160.
Well, since the United States decided to back down and not bring the matter for a UN vote, we won’t know who would have voted against the second resolution, and who would have abstained.
But let’s say we take the “non-willing” and split it down the middle – 50% oppose the war, 50% decided to sit on their hands and avoid pissing off anyone. That’s 81 nations for each side, or 42% opposed to Bush’s 15% pro.
Still not a flattering number, however you slice it.
Footnote, MrVisible: the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federation of Micronesia are US “Associate Nations” whose Security policy is run by the USA and whose economy in one case is heavily based on being the target for US missile tests (Kwajalein Attoll). Of course, they also add up to the population of two small towns, so they really don’t tip the balance.
Debaser, SimonX: Japan’s “Self Defense Agency” is a rather large military that puts up the legal fiction of not being one (by among other things having all the personnel be Civil Service employees). The “Maritime SD Force” actually have been rotating several destroyers for the past year to the Arabian Sea supporting the US fleet in Afghanistan operations.
I am sure that our brave soldiers and sailors will sleep better tonight knowing that the government of El Salvador supports the US war. 
PS When discussing these 30 nations that are in the coaltion of the “willing”, keep in mind a couple of things. First, as far as I know, only two of them (Britain and Australia) are actually willing to commit troops to the conflict. And in every case, it is the governments of these countries that have expressed support, NOT the people who actually live in these countries. (For example, 71% of all Aussies oppose going to war without a UN mandate.)
A number of people have commented on Canada’s position. What gives? The Canadian Goverment has said it will not support a war without UN approval. Their position is that inspections were beginning to make progress, and that ‘Regime Change’ is insupportible. The Canadian Prime Minister was quoted as saying that we can’t dispose of governments we don’t like. If we start, “Who is next? Show me the list.”
They have been accused of risking the long-standing relationship with their most important trading partner.
The overwhelming public opinion in Canada, as well as the opinion of members of parliamnet, seems to agree with the government’s position. The ones who want us behind the US mostly want them to go along so as to preserve the relationship with the US. Some, of course, do believe the war is a good idea.
Mr. Visible, I notice that you put Jordan on the list. that’s a little misleading when you consider this:
Sure, they’re not publicly supporting the US, but that doesn’t sound like the actions of someone completly opposed.
According to my radio (CBC’s Ottawa Morning program), the Jordanian government supports the US, partly becasue of a billion-dollar cash-for-cooperation grant, but the Jordanian public are fervently opposed. As a result, its suspected that Jordan is in the ‘Secret 15’.
Your list is suspect at best. Slovenia and Croatia I noticed right away: They are in the Vilnius Group, which early on announced its support of the United States regarding Iraq. You also have Bulgaria listed, which is firmly on our side.
I won’t bother going through the rest of your ill-researched list.
Further increasing the the grey area, both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirites have publicly called for Saddam to go into exile.
Well, being a glass half-full sort of person…
EU countries:
Austria
Belgium
***Denmark
Finland
France
***United Kingdom
Sweden
Germany
Greece
Ireland
***Spain
***Netherlands
Luxembourg
***Italy
Portugal (supported US as part of 8 European countries)
***denotes support of US military action
Future 10 EU countries:
Cyprus
***Czech Republic
***Estonia
***Hungary
***Latvia
***Lithuania
Malta
***Poland
***Slovakia
Slovenia (supported US via letter as part of the Vilnius 10 group)
Permit me a slight chuckle over that. And also of this:
Former countries of the Soviet Union:
***Azerbaijan
***Georgia
Kazakhstan
Russia
Turkmenistan
***Uzbekistan
Ukraine (is on the unwilling list but maybe shouldn’t be.)
Another interesting note: both Kuwait and Israel are “unwilling”. And Bahrain according to CNN tonight is also offering SH exile.
Canada is apparently on the ‘support, but do not mention’ list.
But I have to say, our Prime Minister, the execrable Mr. Chretien, is taking a lot of fire for his refusal to support the U.S. publically. Today’s question period in parliament was a shouting match, and most of it critical of Chretien.
My favorite exchange (and I’m drawing it from memory - can’t find it on the web yet) went something like this:
Steven Harper: (leader of the official opposition) "Mr. Prime Minister, why are we not supporting our good friends the Americans? How can you turn your back on Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair, our two best allies?
Chretien: The U.N… supported disarmament. It did not support regime change. Canada will not support a military action to change the regime in Iraq.
Harper: Based on what you just said, what we really need is regime change in Canada.
The split in Canada is typical - the Conservatives and the Alliance party strongly support the United States. The Liberals and the NDP (socialists) do not. Since they’re in power, Canada doesn’t ‘support’ the U.S.
But it’s not that simple. Support by the PUBLIC is much higher than our official stance would suggest. And Alberta, my province, issued an official statement of support for the U.S. attack on Iraq.
Here’s what our Premier had to say today:
And here’s what the Premier of Ontario had to say:
The split you are seeing in Canada is between our Anglophone and Francophone populations. Quebec is overwhelmingly opposed to war against Iraq, following France’s lead. On the other end of the spectrum, Alberta’s support for war is about as high as support for war among Americans. I believe there is majority support in Ontario. I don’t know about the other provinces, but the last poll I saw, a month ago, had 41% support for an attack on Iraq with a coalition but without the U.N. Given that Quebec’s support was somewhere around 25%, that would put the rest of Canada’s population in favor. And that was a month ago - I’ll bet it’s a lot higher today.
Once again, our arrogant PM is damaging Canada by doing whatever the hell he pleases, and slapping our allies in the face.
Maybe it’s time for a Canadian thread… I don’t want to hijack this one.
Suffice it to say I’m proud of Chrétien’s non-participation in Junior’s war. Historical alliance and economic concerns do not necessitate following everything the United States does.
I’ll add that this marks the first time the Japaness deployed their AEGIS cruisers overseas. It’s seen in Japan as an indirect support of the Iraq war, because this suport frees up some American ships that can be sent to the Iraq campaign. IIRC the poll at that time showed a majority of the Japanese opposed the deployment for that reason.
Anyway, I’ll point out that that the citizens of the " 30 Nation coalition" do not necessarily support the war. It’s their governments that do. And many of the “Secret Supporters” are countries whose governments want to support the war, but know that they can’t get the support from their people.
Hey, this is good.
El Linko:
http://www.areporter.com/sys-tmpl/thecoalitionofthewilling/
What an unfortunate font choice!!
Well, I got out the trusty calculator and present to you compiled statistics. I will use CotW as an abbreviation for Coalition of the Willing (excepting the US)
US annual GDP: 10,082,000,000
combined GDP of CotW: 10,172,000,000
troops to be sent by US: 300,000
troops to be sent by combined CotW: 47,548
annual military budget of US: 396,000,000
annual military budget of combined CotW: 154,190,000
I notice as well that, excepting the US, the country with the highest annual military budget in the CotW is Japan, which is constitutionally forbidden to use its military for anything but defense – and by this I mean actual defense, not the kind of defense the US is employing right now.
Soooooo… this aint Gulf War I, is it?