Polish-American bump.
Posted on 05/06/2004 9:06:21 AM PDT by areafiftyone
LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) - Poland and Britain renewed their commitment to keeping troops in Iraq on Thursday and condemned the abuse of prisoners by soldiers in the U.S-led coalition.
"An alliance is an alliance, we have obligations and we will carry them out," Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Tony Blair during a state visit.
He said Poland, which currently has 2,400 soldiers in Iraq, was prepared to send a third contingent of troops and aimed to withdraw only after stability was returned to Iraq.
Britain is expected to confirm next week that it will send more troops to bolster the 7,500 it has there. Blair's spokesman said a review of troops was being conducted "in a measured way" and would take "a bit more time" to complete.
Like Britain, Poland is under public pressure about its military presence in Iraq and public support in Poland for the deployment of troops fell to less than a third last week.
BAD TIMING
Photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners and allegations fo similar abuses by British troops dominate the headlines. Blair said Britain would root out any individuals involved.
"The abuse of prisoners and torture of prisoners, the degrading treatment of people in the custody of the coalition forces is completely and totally unacceptable and inexcusable," he said.
Kwasniewski added that the abuses made it even more important to find a non-military solution in Iraq.
Britain is looking to consolidate its friendship with Poland, both as a partner in Iraq and as a prospective ally in the European Union, which Poland joined on May 1.
The visit also included a personal moment when Kwasniewski, a former communist, stopped off at Arsenal's football stadium at Highbury in north London where he worked as a barman when he was a student in Britain about 30 years ago.
Polish-American bump.
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