Poland's Leader Hopes to Gain From Support Of U.S. Policies-(Time to pay Poland)

Washington Post ^ | February 7, 2006 | Craig Whitlock

[Flavius]

WARSAW -- Poland's new president, Lech Kaczynski, said his country might keep troops in Iraq until sometime in 2007 if necessary, in an extension of its military commitment there, even as other nations are withdrawing or making plans to do so.

In an interview in advance of a visit this week to Washington, where he is to meet President Bush and other U.S. officials, Kaczynski said Poland had no second thoughts about joining the multinational invasion and occupation of Iraq. He defended the removal of Saddam Hussein as "the right thing to do," despite the failure to find weapons of mass destruction and the continuing Iraqi insurgency.

At the same time, Kaczynski said he would look for reassurance from Washington that Poland's strong support of U.S. policy would be rewarded with military aid, increased trade and other benefits. Poland stands out in Europe as one of America's most reliable allies, although opinion surveys show that many Poles feel their backing of the United States has not paid off as much as they would like.

[mtbopfuyn]

When will the world start paying us?

[Tarkin]

A July poll commissioned by the German Marshall Fund of the United States found that 52 percent of Poles approved of Bush's foreign policy -- by far the highest level in Europe and higher even than for Americans who were questioned in the same survey.

[Tarkin]

Don't you think it's better to give some military aid to a staunch ally that to send billions of dollars to countries that hate the United States? For a not-so-wealthy country like Poland the intervention in Iraq was a very hard choice not only politically but also financially. IMHO it's not a bad thing to reward allies, especially these allies which are much poorer than the US but nevertheless contribute to the common cause.

[ClaireSolt]

I think $30 million for 1500 troops is pretty steep already.

[Condor51]

***I think $30 million for 1500 troops is pretty steep already.***

$30 mil is peanuts in 'D.C. money' - 67% of the cost of that Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska ($45 mil).

[1rudeboy]

Probably not until we quit whining, and probably not even then.

[1rudeboy]

ping

[lizol]

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[Grzegorz 246]

What do you mean ? Too much ?