Bush's Coalition Of The Coerced: Reality Sets In

BBC has the latest on Iraq's strained coalition: The graphic should show Australia's contribution doubling to around 800 on Monday when Denmark's troops leave. The Ukrainians will be withdrawn by October. Berlusconi says Italy will pull out in September. Poland is scaling back its presence.

The BBC report says "the whole emphasis of the security effort is shifting now":

There may still be major question marks over the reliability of many of the new Iraqi security forces, but the Americans say there are now some 140,000 people trained.

They may not all be fully capable...

You got that right! The US Government Accountability Office says the Pentagon's 142,000 figure includes tens of thousands of Iraqi policemen who have gone AWOL. Previous reports said more than 50,000 have been given as little as three weeks' basic training, reinforcing my suspiscion that the US actually wants the instability to continue as long as possible.