ShareThisPresident Bush's "coalition of the willing" in Iraq will all but evaporate when the new year dawns.
The Multi-National Corps Iraq, which once counted 45 nations in its ranks, will shrink to six on Dec. 31. And Britain -- one of those remaining and the only country besides the United States to contribute a sizable force -- intends to begin pulling out its 4,100 troops in March.
Among those leaving by the end of the year are such military powerhouses as Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, Lithuania, Moldova, Tonga and Ukraine.
Aside from short-timer Britain, those staying shoulder-to-shoulder with the 146,000 U.S. forces will be troops from Australia, El Salvador, Estonia and Romania.
President-elect Barack Obama has said that one of his first priorities will be to recruit more muscular international help in the war in Afghanistan, but initial soundings from many of the original Iraq coalition aren't awash with enthusiasm.
This month, increasingly crowded Arlington National Cemetery opened its ninth "columbarium," a nearly half-mile-long structure that can hold 6,500 cremated remains. Eligibility rules for entombing veterans in the columbariums are looser than those for burial. Almost any veteran is eligible for a nook in a columbarium, while only those who die on active duty or have received top decorations can be buried in the 624-acre cemetery.
In all, Arlington is the final resting place for nearly 300,000. Of those, about 46,000 will be in columbariums once the new one is filled.
Retailers are being hit from all sides during this economic hurricane, including by crooks. The Retail Industry Leaders Association says 84 percent of the U.S. retailers it surveyed said they are witnessing an increase in "amateur" shoplifting and petty theft that has coincided with the recession.
Of the 52 retailers surveyed, 76 percent said they are experiencing more financial fraud, and 80 percent report an increase in organized retail crime, which is committed by sophisticated crime rings that sell the stolen goods at flea markets and pawnshops.
High gas prices and the recession helped further fuel the resurgence of intercity bus service this year. New startups and old reliables saw scheduled bus departures rise 9.8 percent between the end of 2007 and the start of the fourth quarter of this year, the American Bus Association says. Besides saving bucks, younger travelers like buses because they're seen as greener than cars or airplanes.
Animal-rights advocates are hailing the enactment of 91 new animal-protection laws across the country in 2008 as an all-time record. States passed measures cracking down on animal fighting, puppy mills, cruel treatment and farm conditions.
(Scripps Howard News Service correspondent Lee Bowman contributed to this column. E-mail Lisa Hoffman at hoffmanl(at)shns.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
Washington Calling
Britain has handed Iraqi
Britain has handed Iraqi forces control of two of the four southern provinces it has been responsible for since the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein 642-642. Al-Muthanna was transferred in July and Dhi Qar was handed over in September 640-822. Maysan is due to be ceded in January and Basra in the spring 70-236.