Georgian exit leaves vacuum near Iranian border [View All]

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

BAGHDAD (AP) — The departure of 2,000 Georgian soldiers from Iraq leaves a question mark over the future of a series of checkpoints along smuggling routes near the Iranian border, forcing the U.S. to shuffle units to fill the vacuum.

Three Georgian checkpoints on highways surrounding the area's main city of Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, were empty on Monday, residents and Iraqi officials said.

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The former Soviet republic was the third-largest contributor of coalition forces after the U.S. and Britain. After Georgia initially sent a group of 70 servicemen to Iraq in August 2003, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili agreed to increase the contingent to 2,000 servicemen as he courted U.S. support to lessen Russian influence.



Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i3OehGI9KkCKf8aXpxgzkF6ewA4AD92G9P7G0