http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2003/03/20/811366.htmPosted Thu Mar 20, 2003 11:38am AEDT
Updated Thu Mar 20, 2003 11:49am AEDT
More than 20 countries have offered logistical help ranging from airspace to troops for a US-led war against Iraq.
The pledges come despite failure by the United States, Britain and Spain to win UN backing for a war that faces strong opposition in the streets of many countries.
Turkey has yielded to US requests for overflight rights for an attack on Iraq, signalling the collapse of Washington's plans for a bigger-scale invasion from Turkish soil.
Following is a snapshot of the likely roles different nations could play in a war on Iraq:
Albania - Offered to send troops in a largely symbolic gesture.
Australia - Sent 2,000-strong force of elite SAS troops, fighter jets and warships to the Gulf.
Bahrain - Headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet.
Britain - Washington's chief ally on Iraq has sent or committed 45,000 military personnel, planes and warships.
Bulgaria - Offered use of airspace, base and refuelling for US warplanes; sent non-combat troops specialising in chemical and biological warfare decontamination.
Croatia - Airspace and airports open to civilian transport planes from the coalition.
Czech Republic - Sent non-combat troops specialising in chemical warfare decontamination in response to US request.
Denmark - The Government decided to take part in the military action with a submarine and a corvette and a medical team.
Germany - Despite opposition to a war on Iraq, Germany has chemical warfare decontamination specialists in Kuwait which will be increased to between 200 and 250 troops.
Hungary - Hosts a US base where Iraqi exiles are trained for possible post-war administrative roles.
Italy - Offered logistical help and use of military bases and ports under longstanding NATO commitments. Parliament approved US use of Italian airspace and military bases but no Italian troops will be involved.
Jordan - Opened its airspace to coalition planes; hosts US troops carrying out search and rescue operations in western Iraq and manning a Patriot anti-missile defence system. We outsource a lot of our torture to them too:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6999272/site/newsweek/Aboard Air CIA
The agency ran a secret charter service, shuttling detainees to interrogation facilities worldwide. Was it legal? What's next? A NEWSWEEK investigation<snip>U.S. officials insist the CIA has stopped rendering suspects to countries where they believe torture occurs. NEWSWEEK has learned that shortly after a Canadian jihadi suspect of Syrian origin, Maher Arar, was shipped back to Syria in September 2002, officials began having grave second thoughts about rendering suspects to that nation. As a result, the administration made a secret decision to stop sending suspects to Syria. But officials acknowledge that such scruples are being ignored when it comes to rendering suspects to allies like Egypt and
Jordan, even though some officials do not believe "assurances" from these nations that they were not mistreating prisoners. Now the CIA may have to supply many more assurances—and Khaled el-Masri, among others, is waiting for them.