SLOVAKIA 11 troops, 4 military fatalities President Bush had a strong ally in Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, who supported the mission in Iraq with encouraging words and more than 100 Slovakian troops. After a visit from Bush in 2005, Dzurinda

SLOVAKIA 11 troops, 4 military fatalities

President Bush had a strong ally in Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, who supported the mission in Iraq with encouraging words and more than 100 Slovakian troops. After a visit from Bush in 2005, Dzurinda blasted the media's portrayal of the situation in Iraq and predicted that it was "only a question of time when people in Slovakia, in Germany, in European countries, will understand more that this activity [the invasion of Iraq] was necessary." But the Slovakian people tossed him from office in a 2006 election, replacing him with a leftist named Robert Fico who called the war "unjust and wrong" and promptly withdrew all but 11 of the country's troops.

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SLOVENIA 4 troops

There is a long list of nations that sent troops to Iraq when it looked like it could be a winning proposition, but pulled out when things started going sour. Slovenia is on the much shorter list of countries that waited until the war was massively unpopular before sending troops. But the Slovenian defense minister made sure that the country's big commitment of four troops through NATO (which it joined in 2004) will be as low-risk as possible, promising reporters that it would be stationed at a "specially protected" training center.

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SOUTH KOREA 1,200 troops, 1 military fatality

Shortly after South Korea announced it was increasing its troop commitment by 3,000, a South Korean civilian in Iraq was kidnapped and brutally murdered by Iraqi insurgents. Before beheading him, the insurgents released a video of the man pleading for his life and begging South Korea to withdraw its troops from Iraq.

But South Korea stuck with their original commitment, motivated by the need to maintain close ties with the U.S., the opportunity to battle-test its military, and the allure of Iraq's abundant natural resources. South Korean imports of Iraqi crude have increased dramatically since 2003; folded into a recent announcement of a $100 million loan to Iraq were not-so-subtle references to its interest in jointly developing oil fields with the Iraqis. Nevertheless, South Korean officials are gradually decreasing the country's troop levels and may submit a plan for full withdrawal to the legislature soon.

UKRAINE troop # unclear

The U.S. reportedly suspended aid to the Ukraine in 2002, because of a secret tape recording in which former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma personally approved illegal sales of aircraft detection equipment to the regime of Saddam Hussein. Kuchma's efforts to overcome this controversy probably got a boost when his country supplied one of the largest contingents in Iraq, a 1,650-strong force. Ukraine's sizable support was short-lived, however, and after the 2004 election and the so-called Orange Revolution, newly elected President Viktor Yushchenko followed through on his campaign promise to bring the troops home in 2005. Still, there are a handful of Ukrainian soldiers in Iraq training border police.

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