U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
August 20, 2003

Question Taken at August 20, 2003 Press Briefing

NEW TROOP CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COALITION IN IRAQ

Question: Have there been any new discussions with countries regarding the contribution of troops to Coalition efforts in Iraq? What are the results of those discussions? Have any new countries come on board?

Answer: We are continuing our discussions with a number of countries regarding the contribution of troops to Coalition efforts in Iraq.

At this time, 27 countries, in addition to the United States, have contributed a total of approximately 21,700 troops to ongoing stability operations in Iraq. These 27 are Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, El Salvador, Estonia, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

In addition to the 27 countries with forces already on the ground in Iraq, four others (Moldova, the Philippines, Portugal, and Thailand) have committed to providing troops.

Fourteen other countries are currently considering whether to provide forces for Iraq.

We cannot comment further on ongoing discussions.