Reply #16: I've been trying to hunt down some statistics [View All]

[htuttle]

It occurred to me that Bush is asking for UN troop commitments on a scale only rivaled by the Korean War. What I'm wondering is whether they are looking to get MORE international troops than were involved in the Korean War. I think there were less than 50,000 UN allied troops in Korea at any one time (not counting US and ROK troops).

In order to take the pressure off the US military, they would need at LEAST that many, and they probably would need more than are there right now.

I just don't see it happening. The mood of the international community toward the 'war' in Iraq is about 180 degrees opposite what it was in Korea in the '50's (and, of course, the Korean War was about defending against an illegal invasion, not cleaning up after one).