"Coalition of the willing" is a phrase which has been used since the 1980s to refer to groups of nations acting collectively and often militarily outside of United Nations auspices. Its most prominent use was by the George W. Bush administration to refer to those nations whose governments supported the United States position in the Iraq disarmament crisis and later the March 2003 invasion of Iraq (see Occupation of Iraq, 2003-2004). The original list in March 2003 included 48 members [1] (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030321-4.html). The phrase is not in current use. [2] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A27458-2005Jan21?language=printer).

Contents

1 Origins of the phrase 2 Criticism of the phrase 3 Coalition members 4 See also 5 External links and references

Origins of the phrase

The precise origins of the phrase are unknown, but it has been used since at least the late 1980s to refer to groups of nations acting collectively without regard to United Nations opinion. Specific uses of the phrase in the context of disarming Iraq began appearing in mid 2001.

The first American President known to have publicly mentioned acting with a "coalition of the willing" in place of a UN mandate was Bill Clinton. The phrase was later used by George W. Bush to refer both to actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, although usage primarily focused on the latter.

Criticism of the phrase

U.S. senator Robert Byrd, ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has referred to the coalition formed for the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the acronym COW, expressing his concern that the United States was being "milked" as a "cash cow."

Many of the nations in the coalition formed for the 2003 invasion of Iraq stand to receive substantial aid packages and trade benefits from the United States in return for their support. It is for this reason that some editorial cartoons and political commentators have mockingly referred to them as the "coalition of the billing." Another term, used by those who believe coalition nations lied about aspects of the war, is "coalition of the shilling."

Due to the high percentage of states that were small, impoverished nations in need of United States financial aid, a New York Times editorial referred to it as the "Coalition Of Welfare States."

Canadian MP Carolyn Parrish has referred to the "Coalition of the Willing" as the "Coalition of the Idiots". She, however, was reprimanded for these and other anti-American comments, and was eventually removed from the Liberal party caucus.

Coalition members

In order of number of troops (estimated) committed to Iraq as of March 2004:

1. USA 130,000
2. United Kingdom 9,000
3. Italy 3,000
4. Poland 2,460
5. Ukraine 1,600
6. Spain 1,300 -- withdrew troops in June 2004
7. Netherlands 1,100
8. Australia 800
9. Romania 700
10. Bulgaria 480
11. Thailand 440
12. Denmark 420
13. Honduras 368 -- withdrew troops in June 2004
14. El Salvador 361
15. Dominican Republic 302
16. Hungary 300 -- announced to withdraw troops by March 2005 [3] (http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4594144,00.html)
17. Japan 240
18. Norway 179 -- withdrew most troops
19. Mongolia 160
20. Azerbaijan 150
21. Portugal 128
22. Latvia 120
23. Lithuania 118
24. Slovakia 102
25. Czech Republic 80
26. Philippines 80 -- withdrew troops in July 2004
27. Albania 70
28. Georgia 70
29. New Zealand 61
30. Moldova 50
31. Macedonia 37
32. Estonia 31
33. Kazakhstan 25
34. Angola 0
35. Colombia 0
36. Costa Rica 0 -- asked to be removed from the official Coalition list in September 2004
37. Eritrea 0
38. Ethiopia 0
39. Iceland 0
40. Kuwait 0
41. Micronesia 0
42. Nicaragua 0
43. Rwanda 0
44. Singapore 0
45. Solomon Islands 0
46. South Korea 0
47. Tonga 0
48. Uganda 0

Canada does not support the invasion of Iraq and is not a Coalition member but has 31 troops in the theatre as part of an exchange program with the United States military

Norway has withdrawn almost all of its troops. Only a small number of staff officers are currently deployed in Iraq.

Sources: Operation Iraqi Freedom - Coalition Forces (http://www.cjtf7.army.mil/the-coalition/coalition-forces.htm), PWHCE (http://pwhce.org/willing.html)

See also

• 2003 invasion of Iraq
• U.S.-led occupation of Iraq
• Worldwide government positions on war on Iraq

External links and references

• Bush: Join 'coalition of willing (CNN) (http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/11/20/prague.bush.nato/)
• White House list of 49 Coalition Members (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030327-10.html)
• Coalition of the Willing List, Map and Troop Numbers (http://pwhce.org/willing.html) from Perspectives on World History and Current Events
• A Coalition of the Willing? (http://misnomer.dru.ca/2003/02/11/a_coalition_of_the_willing.html) Misnomer, February 11, 2003, summary of public opinion on Iraq invasion

de:Koalition der Willigen fi:Halukkaiden koalitio sl:Koalicija voljnih