US: Georgians' exit to have little impact on Iraq

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A US military spokesman said on Saturday that the departure of Georgia's 2,000-strong contingent from Iraq will have some impact in the near term but no significant long-term effect on Iraq's security. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told CNN on Friday that the troops would be called home Saturday to join the fighting in the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Georgia wants to restore its rule there. A US defense official said that Georgia asked Washington for help getting its troops out of Iraq. US spokesman Capt. Charles G. Calio said that all transportation options are being considered. Georgia's troops in Iraq makes the ex-Soviet republic the third-largest contributor to coalition forces after the US and Britain.