saddams mates..all dressed up

and no where to go...lol

Mein gott, what are the wunderkind going to do, all the old former members of the now deceased soviet state are falling in behind their old adversary.

Ten eastern European states to join in war
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in Brussels
(Filed: 06/02/2003)


Ten more countries across eastern Europe threw their support behind United States policy in Iraq last night, further demolishing Franco-German claims to speak for the continent on the crisis.

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Macedonia, and Albania pledged to take part in military action to disarm Saddam Hussein if he continues to defy the United Nations.

Known as the Vilnius Group, the 10 states went even further in support of George W Bush than the British-led "Gang of Eight" had done in a joint letter last week.

The statement, prepared by the 10 ambassadors to Washington, said the United States secretary of state, Colin Powell, had produced compelling evidence of Saddam Hussein's efforts to deceive weapons inspectors.

"Our countries understand the dangers posed by tyranny and the special responsibility of democracies to defend our shared values. The trans-Atlantic community must stand together to face the threat posed by the nexus of terrorism and dictators with weapons of mass destruction."

They said it was already clear that Iraq was in breach of UN Security Council resolution 1441. "In the event of non-compliance, we are prepared to contribute to an international coalition to enforce its provisions and the disarmament of Iraq."

Just hours before the statement was released, the White House noted that France was now in a "minority position" on Iraq.

Its spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said: "As events have moved along here publicly in the last week and are likely to move along in the future, the position France takes is a position that is not shared widely - is a minority position in Europe."

Virtually the whole of eastern and central Europe, much of the Balkans, the Mediterranean belt of Italy, Spain, and Portugal, as well as Britain and Denmark, are now firmly in the American camp.

The Netherlands held back because it has a caretaker government, but is viewed as a rock-solid ally of the United States. Altogether, 19 European states now back war.

More importantly, when the EU expands eastward next year, those states will represent a majority - 14 out of the 25 members, including four of the "big six" powers.

A diplomat from one of the Baltic states said with undisguised relish: "It's pretty clear now that Europe isn't just France and Germany."

Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said that French president Jacques Chirac was losing control of events with stunning speed.

"This confirms France's worst nightmare - that EU enlargement would turn out to be a strategic disaster because the new countries are Atlanticist, Anglophone, relatively free-trade, and not natural allies of France."

In a sign that the EU is starting to coalesce around a more hawkish stance, the Greek EU presidency yesterday warned Baghdad that it would "carry the responsibility for all the consequences" if it failed to comply with UN demands.

Analysts said that Germany is the country left most nakedly exposed, since it is highly likely that Mr Chirac will join the war effort in the end, after playing "hard to get" for as long as possible. General Klaus Naumann, the former Nato commander, said Chancellor Gerhard Schroder had made his country utterly irrelevant at a crucial time by ruling out support for military action against Iraq, even if there was a clear mandate from the United Nations.

"The German government has manoeuvred itself into a corner," he said.

The Vilnius Group has little to offer the Pentagon in terms of combat forces. Any help is likely to involve medical staff, anti-mine units and chemical protection gear. Romania and Bulgaria have guaranteed Washington over-flight rights and logistical support.


You poor old lefties, what will ever become of you....?

never mind you still have that totally boring, totally dopey monotous slogan to sing yourselves to sleep with..."Hey Hey...Ho Ho.........we know we're anachronisms but where else can we go,...Hey Hey....Oh No......No....No.!"