Saturday, December 4, 2004
The resolution is non-binding, but as both candidates have endorsed a pull-out, so once the government changes it will happen either way - hopefully gradually if it does. It will certainly happen after the January 30th elections.
CNN.com - Ukraine votes for Iraq withdrawal
The vote was nonbinding and analysts said that Kuchma can ignore it.
"Due to the sharp deterioration of the situation in Iraq, the parliament addresses the president with the proposal on withdrawal of troops from Iraq," the resolution said.
Andriy Lysenko, the head of the Defense Ministry press service, said that the military "answers fully to the president of Ukraine, and in case he signs the document, the armed forces will execute his order."
"So far, we do not have such an order," Lysenko said.
Most Ukrainians want the troops brought home, and the deployment has been a rare topic of agreement between the two Ukrainian rivals vying for the presidency. Both opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych support a pullout...
I guess this means that the moment we suffer equivalent casualties defending Ukraine, it will be time to bring American troops home.