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thedrifter
12-05-08, 07:26 AM
Tongan marines leave Iraq; coalition's ranks dwindling

By Adam Ashton

McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD — The Tongan marines left with a song, their vowel-rich war choruses echoing in the marble halls of a palace built for Saddam Hussein but now occupied by the U.S. military.

Fifty-five of them had spent the past four months guarding Camp Victory, a base that sits on a plush estate near the Baghdad airport. It was the fourth rotation in Iraq for the marines from the tiny Pacific island nation.

Their departure this week marks the exit of another member of the "coalition of the willing," the 49 nations that signed on to support the war in Iraq since 2003.

Most of the remaining 18 countries are shutting down their operations swiftly and heading home before the United Nations mandate that allows them to deploy their forces in Iraq expires Dec. 31.

The United States is holding ceremonies for each of them. It sent off the Tongans on Thursday, a contingent of Azerbaijanis on Wednesday and South Koreans on Monday.

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Nicolas Matern, who is overseeing the drawdown, said the departures were a sign of progress, reflected in security improvements over the past year.

"It's the benefit of Iraqi sovereignty," he said. "They're affirming their sovereignty, and because of that, we can draw down."

The Tongan marines, like the departing coalition troops of other countries, weren't asked to stay by the Iraqi government, an invitation that's necessary now that the U.N. mandate for the war is ending at the end of the year.

All but six nations — the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, El Salvador, Estonia and Romania — will be gone by Jan. 1, Matern said.

The United States can stay past Dec. 31 because it brokered a security agreement that calls for a gradual withdrawal of its forces through 2011.

Iraq's Presidency Council ratified the document Thursday, setting in motion a massive transition in authority from the United States to the Iraqi government by Jan. 1.

Some of the changes include a handover of control of the International Zone in central Baghdad, the release of Iraqi detainees in U.S. custody and the adoption of new guidelines that govern when the American military can conduct operations.

The five other Western countries remaining in Iraq won't have to negotiate those arrangements, said Abbas al-Bayati, a member of the Iraqi parliament's security and defense committee. Instead, Iraq is treating about 5,500 troops from those countries as advisers who will help train Iraqi forces and lead humanitarian missions.

The Tongan marines will be replaced by private guards from Uganda who are working for EODT, a U.S. security contractor.

The international coalition was criticized by some as cover for the United States and Great Britain to carry out what in many countries was a broadly unpopular war. The numbers of troops from the coalition partners often were dwarfed by the tens of thousands sent by the United States and the United Kingdom.

Twenty of the smaller countries suffered fatalities in the war, with a total of 138 deaths. The United States has lost 4,207 service members, while the United Kingdom has suffered 176 combat deaths.

The Tongans made it through the war without a casualty, though they served in hot spots such as Fallujah and Ramadi. Their recent tours were at Camp Victory, where they saw a significant decrease in rocket and mortar attacks over time, Tongan Gen. Tau'aika 'Uta'atu said.

'Uta'atu said Tonga's participation in the war gave his country opportunities to deepen the experiences of its marines and affirm its ties to the United States. "We are grateful we have a good friend like America to help us," he said.

Ellie