IN THE NEWS
I hope that people don't make too much of every announcement that an ally in Iraq is pulling out, partially or fully. A nation's foreign policy is directed as much, if not moreso, by domestic concerns as they are by the international situation. Sometimes, when you hear something like today's story that the Ukrainian prime minister wants his country to withdraw from Iraq, you can suspend judgement for the moment. President Kuchma is still in favor of keeping the current number of Ukrainian troops in Iraq, though he hasn't made his final decision on the topic.
But don't relax too much. Had the United States invaded Iraq under the banner of one of its existing alliances, NATO or the UN, instead of the ad hoc "coalition of the willing" that it formed, we'd have less reason to worry about allies withdrawing from the occupation effort. Official treaty commitments squelch domestic politics to a large degree. Someone like Kuchma, therefore, could keep the Ukraine in Iraq by referring to the nation's treaty commitments, instead of just his own political capital in Ukrainian politics. The withdrawal of the Philippines and now Turkey exposes just how less resilient ad hoc alliances can be, since just the execution of a Filipino or Turkish hostage can change their government's policies.
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