To the Tongolese: I’m sorry.
I’m sorry for writing on Friday that you’re not a member of the Iraq coalition. Sure, the Congressional Research Service said you had pulled out. But according to this Pentagon quasi-press release today, you deployed 55 members of your Tonga Defense Services last month to guard MNF-I headquarters in the Baghdad International Airport complex. It’s not exactly a combat mission, but still, this is a huge contribution: Tonga, a South Pacific island nation with a population of under 120,000, has only 450 men under arms.
Says Pacific Command chief Admiral Tim Keating:
Keating, who observed the Tongan troops during a Khaanquest training exercise earlier this summer in Mongolia, said he has no doubt of their capabilities. âTheyâre very tough,â he said. âTheyâre not just very good; theyâre first class.â
My apologies, Tonga — and, yes, to President Bush as well.