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Poland to keep troops in Iraq until end
2006
28.12.2005
By Nathaniel Espino and Natalia Reiter
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WARSAW (Reuters)
- Poland's government said on Tuesday it would keep
troops in Iraq until the end of 2006, longer than
earlier planned, reaffirming its backing for the
United States despite growing opposition at home.
But the present total of 1,500 troops will be cut to
900 by March.
The previous leftist government, which stood up to
European Union heavyweights Germany and France by
firmly supporting the U.S.-led war in Iraq, planned
to pull troops out in early 2006 after gradually
reducing its forces in the course of this year.
"The government decided to ask the president to
extend the deployment of Polish military forces as
part of the international forces in Iraq from
January 1, 2006 until December 31, 2006," Prime
Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz told a news
conference.
"We take into consideration the fact that the
mandate of U.N. stabilization forces has been
extended to the whole of 2006 and, secondly, strong
requests of Iraqi authorities that we stay there."
Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw Koziej told the
news conference Poland's military force in Iraq
would be reduced to 900 in March 2006. He said the
focus of Poland's presence would also shift toward
the training of Iraqi forces.
BULGARIA, UKRAINE PULLOUT
Meanwhile, Bulgaria has withdrawn its entire
334-strong light infantry battalion from Iraq, the
Bulgarian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. The
Bulgarian parliament approved the withdrawal in May
in response to public opposition to the war.
The withdrawal coincided with a similar pullout by
Ukraine.
The last convoy of military hardware of the
Ukrainian contingent in Iraq prepared to board a
ship in Kuwait on Tuesday, completing the withdrawal
of its servicemen, the Defense Ministry said
according to Interfax news agency.
Warsaw's decision is a boost for President George W.
Bush, who has cited Poland as a key member of the
"coalition of the willing" in the face of criticism
at home over the rising toll and costs of the war
and dwindling international forces in Iraq.
"We're certainly pleased to see that Poland is
continuing its commitment to the coalition. Frankly
it should come as no surprise given their steadfast
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the effort to
bring stability and security to Iraq," a spokesman
for the State Department, Adam Ereli, said.
"As the political situation and security situation
develops in Iraq the precise role of different
countries and different countries' forces is going
to change, but it is definitely a good thing to see
that whatever those changes imply, Poland is there
for the long haul."
Surveys have consistently shown a majority of Poles
opposed to the military mission, but unlike in some
western European countries, the issue played a
marginal role in recent elections.
Reuters
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