POLAND MAY SET PLAN FOR IRAQ PULLOUT

Yahooo via AP ^ | 4/27/04

[areafiftyone]

WARSAW, Poland - Poland's likely next prime minister said Tuesday that domestic pressure is building to set a timetable for an eventual pullout of its soldiers from Iraq, but he plans no imminent retreat.

Marek Belka, who is expected to take over Sunday from Prime Minister Leszek Miller, said his remark reflects the mood among government and opposition parties whose backing he has been seeking to be confirmed as the new leader.

"Nobody is talking about bailing out of Iraq," said Belka, who until last month directed economic policy in Iraq under the U.S.-led coalition authority.

"But everybody talks about the necessity of drafting a road map — a kind of scenario which would conclude with the possibility of withdrawing our troops," he said.

Poland commands a 9,500-member multinational force in south-central Iraq, including 2,400 of its own troops.

Belka is due to be sworn in by President Aleksander Kwasniewski on Sunday after Miller's planned resignation.

Belka, who once served as Miller's finance minister, requires parliament's approval for his new post, but he would stay on in a caretaker role even if lawmakers refused to back him.

Miller has said he will step down Sunday, the day after Poland joins the European Union. His decision follows a dramatic decline in his center-left government's popularity, largely due to high unemployment and cuts in government spending.

[GOP_1900AD]

Disgusting. The epidemic of spinelessness is legend.

[faithincowboys]

LET THE RUSSIANS HAVE POLAND BACK.

[Gator113]

I for one am getting damn tired of hearing that Poland is thinking of pulling out...and then.... not really. Screw this....either shut up and fight, or run like cowards.

[dfwgator]

Seems reasonable, Poland is asking that we define the mission, define victory, then once victory is achieved, get the hell out. Are we doing that? What constitutes victory in Iraq? Or is it just going to be some open-ended engagement that goes on for years? Poland is not Spain. They will not leave until the mission is accomplished (whatever mission that is).

[snooker]

I believe we will all know when the job is done.

"Or is it just going to be some open-ended engagement that goes on for years?"

Yeah like Europe was. Wouldn't want to do that, now would we. Oh wait, maybe it's those 50 years we spent in Europe that freed Poland. Maybe we should have pulled out of Europe in 1950. Then Poland wouldn't have any decisions to make.

[oceanview]

US forces will never pull out of Iraq. its the most strategic part of the world, we will always have bases there, and always have a security presence within the country.

unless kerry or hillary is elected. then we pull out, and within 10 years, manhattan and washington DC will be nuked by terrorists.

[dfwgator]

unless kerry or hillary is elected. then we pull out, and within 10 years, manhattan and washington DC will be nuked by terrorists.

It's not going to matter anyway if we don't take care of the real problem...Syria.

[Hildy]

Did you hear what Chris Matthews said that Prince Bandar (Sp?) of Saudi Arabia said? He said that the young people of SA are going back to fundamentalism. They "won't eat off the same plates as their parents" because their parents watch TV. At this point, I don't even know what can be done.

[dfwgator]

Like I said, I think Iraq can be "nipped in the bud" fairly soon, within a year or two. But there are much bigger problems ultimately we are going to have to face, i.e. Syria, and Saudi Arabia when the inevitable overthrow of the regime happens and they become a fundamentalist Islamic state.

I could see that we may need to stay in Iraq for it would be a staging area for going after Syria. Could this raise resentment however amongst the Iraqis if we are there. Are we managing the expectations properly? Do they know we intend to be there for a long time? Or have we set them up to believe that we would pull out of Iraq within a few years? I don't know.

My take on what the Poles are asking for is a little more clarification as to what the end game is with regards to Iraq.

And frankly, this Visa issue with the Poles isn't helping matters any either. Poland is one of our true friends, but our government isn't treating them like one.

[ought-six]

"Disgusting. The epidemic of spinelessness is legend."

This really surprises me. I had thought the Poles were made of sterner stuff. The IslamoNazis will be rejoicing, as they will take this as evidence that the West cannot stand up to the onslaught of Islam, which will just embolden these malcontents to further aggressions. America, wake up! We will be the only one left to fight this horror, and given the spinelessness of the liberals and the Left, I shudder to think what will happen.

[dfwgator]

The title of this article is very misleading anyway. Let's look at what was said:

"Nobody is talking about bailing out of Iraq," said Belka, who until last month directed economic policy in Iraq under the U.S.-led coalition authority.

"But everybody talks about the necessity of drafting a road map — a kind of scenario which would conclude with the possibility of withdrawing our troops," he said.

[Reader of news]

Don't worry, it's not true, it's an exageration of the media. Poland is NOT going to withdraw its troops until its job is finished - when Iraq will be free and prosperous.

[dfwgator]

ping.

[dfwgator]

Screw this....either shut up and fight, or run like cowards.

You mean like cowardly giving Poland over to the Soviets at Yalta? You mean like cowardly standing by and doing nothing while Nazis and Soviets invaded Poland?

[Revolting cat!]

Yeah, Poland owes us big time for all the sacrifices we made for them at Yalta! How ungrateful!

[Reader of news]

POLAND IS NOT GOING TO WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS. THEY'LL FINISH ITS JOB.

[dalebert]

I thought Poland said they were staying?

[areafiftyone]

I think they are. I believe this title is misleading. They will stay until at least June 30th.

[Alberta's Child]

On a lighter note . . .

Q. Who was Alexander Graham Poplowski?
A. He invented the first telephone Pole.