IRAQ: Georgian troops trade one war for another

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Georgian troops began leaving Iraq today to return to their homeland, where a showdown with Russian forces over the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia has exploded in bloodshed. The departure leaves the United States suddenly 2,000 soldiers short of what it once had, but the commander of the Georgian contingent said his forces have no choice but to defend their own country.

‘It is of course preferable to go home and do everything we can for our country, not Iraq,’ said Col. Bondo Maisuradze after getting his redeployment orders. ‘Sorry,’ he added. ‘This may sound strange, but this is what we are feeling.’

Col. Steven Boylan, a U.S. military spokesman, said U.S. aircraft began flying the Georgian contingent out of Iraq on Sunday. There was no word on how long it would take to get all 2,000 troops back home.

Georgia deployed troops to Iraq in 2004, and five of its soldiers have died in the war. Most recently, the Georgians were deployed along the Iranian border in Wasit province to bolster security and to try to prevent smuggling of weapons and bombs that are used by Shiite militiamen. It has represented the third-largest contingent of foreign troops in Iraq, after Americans and British soldiers.

U.S. officials say the loss of the Georgians, despite being unplanned, will not derail security gains made in recent months. ‘We had already been shuffling forces around in Wasit province before the recent events,’ Boylan said. ‘We can and are accomodating the changes.’

— Tina Susman in Baghdad