Georgian parliament approves doubling of Iraq force
08/06/2007 15:52 TBILISI, June 8 (RIA Novosti) - The Georgian parliament approved Friday President Saakashvili's initiative to more than double the country's peacekeeping contingent in Iraq.
The bill, passed by a 142-2 vote, authorizes the increase in personnel from 850 to 2,000. Deployment of the extra contingent is to start July 15.
A Defense Ministry spokesman said depending on rank, Georgian servicemen in Iraq earn from $1,100 to $3,000 a month.
Georgian "blue helmets" are deployed in Baghdad and Baaqub as part of a U.S. peacekeeping continent.
No Georgian servicemen have been killed since 2002, when the country joined an international peace mission in Iraq.
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