With key pillars of the Coalition of the Willing starting to defect, the US seems to be pressing allies for cannon fodder in some unlikely corners of "New Europe." Sifet Podzic, chief of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), has announced that BiH won’t increase its troops in Iraq. However, he added that participation in peacekeeping missions would not be voluntary any more, but will be made compulsory for all servicemen. (Focus News Agency, March 3) Bosnia sent its first unit to Iraq—36 troops, including Muslims, Croats and Serbs—in the summer of 2005. (BBC, June 1, 2005)

See our last posts on Bosnia and Iraq.