AMERICA’S claim to have stitched together a broad coalition of nations against Iraq began to unravel yesterday as it emerged that Washington’s 45 allies were made up of some of the poorest, newest, smallest and most reluctant partners on the planet.

On the eve of a US-led invasion of Iraq, the Bush Administration was determined to show that it still has some world opinion on its side, in spite of the failure to win support at the United Nations.

Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, said that America’s allies were made up of leaders who were “now standing tall in this coalition of 30, plus 15 more who we will know in due course”.

“I am pleased that the United States, working with these leaders, has been able to make a case for these leaders to take to their people. And I hope that they will all be able to do everything that’s possible within their means to support the coalition militarily, diplomatically, politically and economically,” he said.

His remarks were greeted as a desperate attempt by the Bush Administration to make its present coalition resemble the alliance of 34 nations who contributed tens of thousands of troops in the last Gulf War in 1991.

“We do not have a coalition today. We have a mock-coalition,” said a former British diplomat who helped to put together the alliance in 1991. “The last time we had serious global players. We had serious regional powers. This time the Americans have cobbled together a desperate bunch of countries that can’t say ‘no’.”

Only Britain and Australia are contributing combat forces to the alliance, although the Pentagon has made clear that US troops could complete the mission to overthrow President Saddam Hussein by themselves.

Some former Soviet states in Eastern Europe, such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania, have offered small military contingents, who are unlikely to see any action. Other countries, such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Eritrea, did not even exist as sovereign states during the last war.

The rest of the alliance is made up of nations closely tied economically to the United States, such as El Salvador and Albania. Other countries receive US military assistance, for example Colombia, the Philippines, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

“The list includes a lot of ‘who cares’ countries,” Jonathan Stevenson, a defence expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said. “A lot of it is just spin on the Bush Administration’s part.”

Some of the most important allies in the war, such as the Gulf states, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, are providing vital bases for American and British forces, but they are so reluctant to be seen co-operating that they do not want to be identified in the State Department’s coalition list.

Lined up against the motley collection of allies are scores of countries, led by France, Russia and China, the other permanent members of the UN Security Council. The war has been opposed by most of the developing world. The European Union and Nato are deeply divided over the conflict in Iraq. Even Canada and Mexico, America’s partners in the North American Free Trade Association, have been hostile to a military campaign.

Nations ready, unwilling and not so able

The willing: committing combat troops against Iraq: US (190,000), UK (45,000 troops), Australia (2,000)

The less than willing: Denmark is deploying a submarine and small naval destroyer. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland and Slovakia have all offered troops on a non-combatant basis. Turkey may allow US aircraft to fly over its airspace. The Netherlands has sent anti-missile batteries to Turkey. Hungary has allowed the Iraqi opposition to train on its territory. Italy has offered logistical support of its bases. Spain has offered political support but no military assistance. Japan and South Korea may help in postwar reconstruction

The reluctant: El Salvador, Nicaragua and Colombia receive generous US anti-drugs funding. Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, the Philippines receive US military assistance against terrorism. Ethiopia and Albania are among the world’s poorest 100 countries. Eritrea, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Azerbaijan did not exist in the last Gulf War and are among the smallest nations
The unwilling: 15 countries refuse to associate themselves publicly with the coalition, but are helping the war effort. These include America’s main allies in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman have allowed the US-led force to build up on their territories. Israel has publicly supported the war, but America does not want it openly linked to the coalition

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