Post by Moses on Dec 27, 2005 14:34:39 GMT -5
Neocon's Client State:
Poland to Keep Troops in Iraq, Dropping Pullout Plan (Update2)
Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Poland's two-month-old government plans to keep soldiers in Iraq next year, countering the previous cabinet's pledge to pull out of the U.S.-led operation by this week.
The government asked Polish President Lech Kaczynski, the head of the army, to approve the plan to prolong the eastern European country's military mission in Iraq.
``Our plan is determined by the United Nations prolonging its mission in Iraq and requests from the Iraqi government, which asked us to keep our forces there longer,'' Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said at a press conference in Warsaw.
About three-quarters of Poles oppose the country's participation in the military occupation of Iraq, according to a June survey for the Warsaw-based Center for Public Research. The reduction of Poland's forces in the Middle Eastern country comes as Ukraine and Bulgaria pull their troops out completely and the U.K. and Italy said they would scale back their roles.
Poland plans to reduce its contingent to 900 soldiers in March from 1,400 now and then cut the number of soldiers stationed there ``gradually'' until a decision is made to withdraw them completely, General Stanislaw Koziej said at the press conference.
The government plans to keep soldiers in Iraq until the end of 2006, Marcinkiewicz said.
New Role
The next contingent of Polish troops would not take part in military patrols, mainly taking responsibility for training and advising the Iraqi armed forces, Koziej said.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said during a visit to the southern Iraqi city of Basra last week that there was no timetable for a British troop withdrawal from Iraq. U.K. officials said, though, that a gradual withdrawal may start in May or June, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 23.
``I appeal to the prime minister to withdraw all Polish troops from Iraq as quickly as possible,'' said Roman Giertych, leader of the Polish Families League, which supported the government in a Nov. 10 confidence vote and has threatened several times to withdraw its backing. ``There's a civil war going on and keeping the army there is a mistake.''
Andrzej Lepper, leader of No. 3 Polish party Self Defense, which also backed the government in the Nov. 10 confidence vote, called on legislators to debate the cabinet's plan on keeping Polish troops in Iraq.
``The government's plan will cool relations between our party and the government,'' Lepper said at a press conference in Warsaw.
A total of 21 Poles have been killed in Iraq since August 2003, including four civilians.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Katya Andrusz in Warsaw at kandrusz@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: December 27, 2005 12:04 EST
Poland to Keep Troops in Iraq, Dropping Pullout Plan (Update2)
Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Poland's two-month-old government plans to keep soldiers in Iraq next year, countering the previous cabinet's pledge to pull out of the U.S.-led operation by this week.
The government asked Polish President Lech Kaczynski, the head of the army, to approve the plan to prolong the eastern European country's military mission in Iraq.
``Our plan is determined by the United Nations prolonging its mission in Iraq and requests from the Iraqi government, which asked us to keep our forces there longer,'' Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said at a press conference in Warsaw.
About three-quarters of Poles oppose the country's participation in the military occupation of Iraq, according to a June survey for the Warsaw-based Center for Public Research. The reduction of Poland's forces in the Middle Eastern country comes as Ukraine and Bulgaria pull their troops out completely and the U.K. and Italy said they would scale back their roles.
Poland plans to reduce its contingent to 900 soldiers in March from 1,400 now and then cut the number of soldiers stationed there ``gradually'' until a decision is made to withdraw them completely, General Stanislaw Koziej said at the press conference.
The government plans to keep soldiers in Iraq until the end of 2006, Marcinkiewicz said.
New Role
The next contingent of Polish troops would not take part in military patrols, mainly taking responsibility for training and advising the Iraqi armed forces, Koziej said.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said during a visit to the southern Iraqi city of Basra last week that there was no timetable for a British troop withdrawal from Iraq. U.K. officials said, though, that a gradual withdrawal may start in May or June, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 23.
``I appeal to the prime minister to withdraw all Polish troops from Iraq as quickly as possible,'' said Roman Giertych, leader of the Polish Families League, which supported the government in a Nov. 10 confidence vote and has threatened several times to withdraw its backing. ``There's a civil war going on and keeping the army there is a mistake.''
Andrzej Lepper, leader of No. 3 Polish party Self Defense, which also backed the government in the Nov. 10 confidence vote, called on legislators to debate the cabinet's plan on keeping Polish troops in Iraq.
``The government's plan will cool relations between our party and the government,'' Lepper said at a press conference in Warsaw.
A total of 21 Poles have been killed in Iraq since August 2003, including four civilians.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Katya Andrusz in Warsaw at kandrusz@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: December 27, 2005 12:04 EST