US President George W. Bush's previously faithful and proud European allies are gradually withdrawing their support for his cause in Iraq.
In the space of just a few months, Bush's more faithful allies in central and eastern Europe have one by one begun a complete or partial withdrawal of their troops from Iraq.
Yet, only two years ago, the heads of former communist bloc countries were prepared to brave the irritation of France and Germany, standing firmly at the US' side.
Recognizing the role played by Washington in helping fall of communism, they were sympathetic to the Bush crusade for freedom.
But the Bush administration has remained largely ungrateful for their efforts.
So now even Bulgaria, which orchestrated eastern Europe's support for the campaign against Saddam Hussein, announced on Thursday that it would reduce its presence in Iraq by 100 soldiers at the end of June.
Bulgarian Defense Minister Nicolas Svinarov said his government would examine the question of the withdrawal before the end of March.
The Baltic former Soviet republic of Latvia already reduced its small contingent in November, Hungary has withdrawn all its 300 troops and Poland cut its troops at the time of the Iraqi parliamentary elections on Jan. 30, from 2,400 soldiers to 1,700.
Poland, which controls a zone to the south of Baghdad, predicts that it will recall several hundred more troops from July.
East European governments have played down their decisions.
"This is not a political decision, the contingent's reduction was dictated by practical reasons," Latvia's Defense Minister Atis Slakteris said.
And Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski used the Iraqi elections to claim that a new era had begun for the country.
Anxious to hold on to one of its better allies in Europe, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice quietly accepted Poland's arguments. Less diplomatic was her Danish counterpart Per Stig Moeller, who harshly criticized Poland.
"I think it's simply absurd to say that now that democracy is in place we can leave," said Moeller.
In Hungary the reasons for withdrawal are clear. Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany could not secure a two-thirds parliamentary majority to extend the mandate.
The conservative opposition refused to give its support, arguing that the large majority of Hungarians opposed the country's presence in Iraq.
And across most of the region opinions have only slightly changed over the past two years in their opposition to a military presence in Iraq.
In Hungary, before the parliamentary vote, 54 percent of people asked supported withdrawing troops compared to just 19 percent who wanted to maintain the troops.
In Poland more than two-thirds of citizens oppose deployment of their soldiers in Iraq against less than 30 percent who are in favor.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese