Poland planning pull-out of troops from Iraq

Poland is planning to withdraw its troops from Iraq in
the coming months, dealing another blow to the US-led
coalition forces there.

The revelation yesterday by a senior government adviser
that Poland’s 2,500 soldiers would leave Iraq comes just
a day after the new Spanish Prime Minister, Mr José Luis
Rodríguez Zapatero, announced the pull-out of Spanish
troops "as soon as possible".

President Bush reacted to the Spanish decision by
accusing Mr Zapatero yesterday of giving "false comfort
to terrorists \ enemies of freedom in Iraq".

The White House spokesman, Mr Scott McClellan, said that
in a five-minute telephone call to Mr Zapatero, Mr Bush
also urged Spain’s withdrawal to "take place in a co-
ordinated manner that does not put at risk other
coalition forces in Iraq". Spain said last night its
troops would be out within six to eight weeks.

A senior adviser to the Polish government confirmed to
The Irish Times that Warsaw’s decision had been
influenced by the Spanish move. "Given the circumstances
[in Iraq], we will probably diminish significantly the
forces at the end of 2004," said Prof Tadeusz Iwinski,
secretary of state for international affairs in the
office of the prime minister.

Questioned further by The Irish Times, he said: "It is
much easier to send troops in than to withdraw them, but
we will probably do it at the end of 2004 or the start
of 2005."

As well as 2,500 soldiers, Poland commands a 9,000-
strong division of troops from 24 nations, including
1,300 Spanish soldiers. Poland and Spain had worked
closely as both political and military allies over Iraq.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence in Warsaw was
unable to comment. However, indicating evident confusion
within the government, the Polish President, Mr
Aleksander Kwasniewski, was quoted yesterday pledging to
keep Polish soldiers in Iraq. He bemoaned the Spanish
decision to withdraw and said he hoped that the Latin
American members of the coalition would keep their
troops in Iraq.

But last night there were signs that this would not
happen. El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua provided 900
troops to the Spanish-speaking Plus Ultra Brigade which
was headed by Spain. Honduras said it would definitely
withdraw its 400 troops. Nicaragua has already pulled
out by not replacing its 115 troops because of a lack of
funds.

The US State Department spokesman, Mr Richard Boucher,
insisted that El Salvador was "holding fast", as he put
it.

According to the Associated Press, Albania, a
predominantly Muslim country, has told the US it is
prepared to send more non-combat troops to Iraq, on top
of the 71-member contingent already there, in the
northern city of Mosul, under US command

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2004/0420/3783682793HM1SCALLY.html