# Iraq coalition question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-coalition-question/162673>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 20, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-coalition-question/162673 "2003-03-20T00:18:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-coalition-question/162673/1 "2003-03-20T00:18:48Z")

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How many of the 30 countries in the “coalition of the willing” are contributing military forces, other strategic help (airbases, equipment), or money to the war effort?

FYI, this was also asked in [this GD thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=170906), but the question seemed to get lost in the shuffle, and I thought maybe GQ was a better place to ask.

Or maybe nobody knows the answer at this point.

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**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-coalition-question/162673/2 "2003-03-20T01:12:28Z")

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I haven’t seen anything published on this, so this is a pure guess but, based on the list of countries I saw, I’d say we can’t expect much, if any, help from them, other than moral support. With a few exceptions, the list reads like a list of the poorest countries in the world. I doubt most of them have anything they could contribute.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-coalition-question/162673/3 "2003-03-20T01:25:42Z")

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[As of March 12](http://www.nytimes.com/cfr/international/backgroundiraq031203.html):

> [@](#):
>
> There are approximately 25,000 British troops, roughly 2,000 Australian soldiers, and smaller numbers of Canadian, Danish, and other forces in the region. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and the UAE have also sent 8,000 troops to Kuwait in a largely symbolic effort to help defend that country.

[Canada is now pulling](http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/03/18/cdntroops030318) many of it’s troops from the region.