Mounting unrest in Iraq tests US allies' commitment

Fighting coalition forces and Shiite Muslim militiamen across a wide swath south of Baghdad presents a major test of the resolve of America's partners to stay the course in Iraq.

The mounting unrest, triggered by the US crackdown on firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, will also test the American strategy of avoiding traditional alliances and international institutions in favor of "coalitions of the willing" in a military conflict.

Washington's to bring along its major partners in the NATO alliance into the Iraq conflict means the US has no ready pool of well-trained reinforcements -- apart from its own troops -- in case the Pentagon decides more forces are necessary to maintain order.

Instead binding treaty obligations, Washington will have to rely on arm-twisting and powers of persuasion to hold on to its coalition partners, some of whom face pressure to send their troops home.

Since violence erupted on Sunday in Shiite areas south of Baghdad, coalition soldiers from Europe and Latin America have come under armed attack after months in which the Americans have born the brunt of the fighting -- and the casualties.

By night, the toll from the Shiite fighting included three dead -- one soldier from El Salvador, another from Ukraine and a civilian truck driver from Bulgaria. At least 12 Italians, five Ukrainians, three Bulgarians and two Poles have been wounded.

Those numbers pale alongside American losses -- 417 battle deaths and about 3,000 wounded since the war started in March last year.

However, coalition partner losses are significant in smaller countries where support for the war has never been as strong as in the US, Britain or Australia.

Since the explosion in the Shiite areas, none of the coalition partners have spoken of abandoning the mission.

Before the flareup, however, the incoming Spanish government announced it will withdraw its 1,300 troops unless the UN takes over the mission by June 30, when Washington returns power to a new Iraqi government.

"Fleeing from the mission in Iraq is unthinkable," Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Tuesday.

However, signs of trouble are emerging.

The Dutch government, for example, favors keeping its 1,300 soldiers in Iraq after their tour ends on July 1. On Tuesday, however, several leading Dutch politicians called for a parliamentary debate on Iraq next week.

"It's not a foregone conclusion that we'll stay in Iraq," one of them, Boris Dittrich, said.

In Norway, an opinion poll released last week showed that 51.2 percent of the 1,505 people surveyed wanted the country's 150 troops home. The margin of error was 5 percent.