Posted on 03/19/2004 8:56:19 AM PST by tjwmason
Poland 'will keep troops in Iraq even if attacked'
By Kate Connolly in Warsaw
(Filed: 19/03/2004)
Poland will keep its troops in Iraq even if Islamist militants mounted a wave of terrorist attacks on its streets, a senior minister told the Telegraph yesterday.
Poland, the third largest troop contributor to the Iraq force, would not change its policy to "suit the terrorists", said Jozef Oleksy, the interior minister.
He said the attacks in Madrid last week had strengthened Poland's resolve to maintain a presence in Iraq "for as long as necessary".
Mr Oleksy, a social democrat who was prime minister in the mid-1990s, said terrorist attacks against Polish civilians were likely. Poland has 2,500 men in Iraq.
"Unfortunately in Poland we have to consider that we could be attacked. Now not only do we consider it, we take it for granted."
But he said pulling out troops was not an option.
"We do not consider the withdrawal of our troops in any circumstances, because it would be an act of cowardice and just another victory for terrorism."
He did not deny that were a terrorist attack to occur in Poland, persuading the electorate that troops should stay would be more difficult.
"Certainly if there was a tragedy related to our presence in Iraq, it would definitely increase discussions and controversies, and quite likely resistance against our presence in Iraq would intensify. But the government would not change its basic line because the enemy has brought about a certain situation."
Although he welcomed the victory of fellow socialists in Spain, he also noted that the election was "indirectly won by al-Qa'eda".
Mr Oleksy said the events in Madrid, which killed four Polish citizens, including a baby, marked a "new phase" in the terrorism war.
One poll put 67 per cent of Poles against the despatch of troops to Iraq, with another putting the opposition at 53 per cent.
Despite this, the Madrid attacks have generated a mood of defiance in Poland. The country has a record of resistance to intimidation and assault from outsiders.
President Aleksander Kwasniewski said yesterday that Poland had been "taken for a ride" over weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but added that he was not calling for the withdrawal of troops.
Polish newspapers have run a series of editorials calling on readers to hold firm against the terrorist menace.
The message appeared to have reached the streets of Warsaw yesterday. "We should be persistent and continue with the line we adopted," said Jan Arsoba, 51.
Bozena Gadomska, 36, a flower seller, said the decision to involve Poland in Iraq was "deeply flawed" but insisted that she would not vote for or against a party based on its war policy.
"After what happened in Madrid this would be a populistic move and would be like giving the terrorists a free hand," she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Poland the brave stands firm.
Did he just call the Spanish,, COWARDS ?..
(Eddie Murphy laugh)..
I made a similar comment to my wife recently. It seems as though (outside of the U.K. and Australia, both of whom of course were our true allies in WWII), the strongest allies we have now are some of the former Soviet Bloc countries, because they are so close to their oppressed pasts that they can truly appreciate freedom much more than the bloated and decadent western EuroPeons who were pampered by the U.S.'s protection during the Cold War.
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