NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

September 15, 2007

MOSCOW – The former Soviet republic of Georgia will reduce its troop deployment in Iraq to 300 soldiers from 2,000 by July, the country's defense minister said yesterday.

Georgia, a nation of 4.6 million in the Caucasus Mountains, is the third-largest supplier of foreign troops in Iraq, after the United States and Britain.

South Korea, the fourth-largest contributor of troops to the U.S.-led coalition, is considering cutting its contingent to 800 soldiers from 1,200, Korean newspapers reported this week.

That could eventually leave Poland, with 900 soldiers, the third-largest contingent, although the deployment is an issue in parliamentary elections there in October. Opposition parties are arguing against any further commitment to the war.

Britain, which has 5,500 troops in Iraq, plans to withdraw 500 by the end of the year, according to the Washington-based Brookings Institution, which monitors foreign troop levels in Iraq. At its peak during the invasion, Britain had 45,000 soldiers in Iraq. Units recently withdrawn from Basra were redeployed to nearby bases, leaving Britain's overall troop numbers unchanged.

The total of non-U.S. troops in the Multi-National Force-Iraq is 11,685, including military trainers, according to the Brookings tally. After expected troop reductions announced by foreign governments, including Georgia, the total next summer will likely be about 9,000, Brookings researcher Jason Campbell said.

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