Posted on 12/15/2004 9:51:23 AM PST by Potomac
WARSAW, Poland - Poland will cut its troop strength in Iraq by nearly a third in February as part of long-standing plans to reduce its presence there, the government said Tuesday.
Poland's 2,400-member contingent will be cut to 1,700 from mid-February, with 700 soldiers remaining on standby in Poland, Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski told a news conference.
Poland, a staunch U.S. ally on Iraq, commands an international stabilization force of about 6,000 troops in central Iraq. The cuts will come as part of a regular troop rotation due to begin in early January, but Szmajdzinski stressed that troop levels will remain stable for Iraq's Jan. 30 elections.
"During the electoral campaign and during the elections, there will be 2,400 troops," he said.
Szmajdzinski cited the military operation's high cost and waning violence in the Polish area of responsibility as reasons for the planned reduction.
The area, which includes the cities of Hillah and Diwaniyah, has "one of the highest security levels in Iraq, and there aren't such high military needs," he said.
Szmajdzinski said the cuts will chiefly affect logistics and services. It won't lead to a drop in the number of soldiers patrolling the streets or require other countries to send reinforcements, he said.
Polish leaders have said since summer that they plan to scale back the number of troops in Iraq in 2005.
Although surveys show that three in four Poles oppose having troops in Iraq, Warsaw's leaders have repeatedly said they oppose a complete pullout until the security situation has stabilized.
Reducing the number of troops will reduce the mission's cost next year to $69 million, saving the deficit-ridden Polish government about $10 million, compared with this year, Szmajdzinski said.
The Polish-led force, which has no mandate for combat operations, currently has soldiers from 15 countries. It has shrunk from a peak strength of about 9,500 as several nations pulled out.
The biggest withdrawal was by Spain, which called home its 1,300 soldiers after elections in March. Hungary decided last month to pull out its 300 troops by the end of this year.
"Polish area of responsibility"
I hope they're not in charge of screwing in the light bulbs.
Do you know how many American tourists does it take to change a light bulb ?
Fifteen :)
You're in SOOOO MUCH TROUBLE! :-)
Fair enough.
Q. How many Islamic terrorists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. Ten. One to unscrew the old bulb, one to stomp on it and scatter the pieces across the floor, six to tie up the new bulb and blindfold it, one to cut off its head, and one to read the Quran to the rest in the dark.
Let me get this straight. The Polish are going to withdraw troops in the range of hundreds? Hundreds? I don't know if we are even going to really notice this loss. No offense. More of our troops are getting sand lice than this and that certainly hasn't made the news.
Somebody have a polish complex :)
It's Polish envy. I love your FR home page, and when I visit Poland I'll let you know in advance! Polish beers are good, and the people are the best. Cheers!:)
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