Well. From the "Look What I Found as I Cleaned Up A Pile of Papers" file, this Congressional Research Report from September 1998:
Widespread reluctance in the international community to resort to force against Iraq prevented the United States from assembling a large multinational force like the 35-member coalition that defeated Iraq in 1991. The United Kingdom deployed an aircraft carrier and associated units to the Gulf; Canada sent a frigate and transport aircraft; and Australia and New Zealand sent tanker and surveillance aircraft, respectively, together with small contingents of commandos. Other donor countries offered administrative and logistical rather than combat units: Argentina, Denmark, and Hungary promised medical and humanitarian teams. Poland offered an anti-chemical unit, and the Czech Republic and Romania offered unspecified military support, if needed. Total allied forces deployed or committed came to less than 4,000 personnel, only a fraction of the roughly 210,000-strong allied force committed during the 1991 Gulf war.
Imagine that, in 1998, before our alliance-killing president took office, only Britain contributed significant forces as we built up for a confrontation. Of course, back then everyone assumed Iraq had WMD.
To be fair, I guess we lost Canada in the five years since this build up of forces. My bad. Clearly a more sensitive president could have brought Canada on board. (No offense Canada, but your armed forces have atrophied to an armed Boy Scout troop. Become an ally again Ottawa.)
