U.S.-led coalition in Iraq dwindles as allies leave

By Michael Christie

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A string of departures by the U.S. military's allies in Iraq is turning into an exodus as violence subsides and the end of a U.N. mandate permitting their deployment to the country approaches.

Barely a day goes by without an end-of-mission ceremony in a dusty military camp somewhere in Iraq, with U.S., allied and Iraqi officials delivering grateful speeches to departing troops, and pinning medals on chests as military bands play.

On Wednesday, it was the turn of an Azerbaijani contingent to say goodbye at Camp Ripper in once volatile but now relatively tranquil Anbar province. On Thursday, Tongan marines will celebrate their departure at Camp Victory in Baghdad.

Troops from Bosnia-Herzegovina, South Korea, Poland, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Latvia and Macedonia have already bade their farewells in the past two months and Japan will end its air force mission flying supplies into Iraq this year.

"The fact that we have the ability to redeploy some of those elements is actually a good news story," said Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. combat forces in Iraq.

"It's a good news story because it means security has improved in a lot of places to the point that we can actually operate effectively despite the loss of some of that great capability," he told a news conference.

The tasks carried out by the partners would be taken on by an ever-more confident and capable Iraqi army, Austin added.

The sectarian bloodshed unleashed after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 has dropped significantly in the past year.