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Pullout 'propaganda'? From Warsaw Business Journal by Andrew Kureth A government statement that Polish troops will disengage from Iraq by the end of the year has been derided as a political stunt. Last week Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdziñski confirmed an earlier proposal that Poland should withdraw its troops when its Security Council mandate runs out at the end of the year. "We are carrying out our exit strategy from Iraq," Szmajdziñski told reporters after a cabinet meeting. "At the time of the expiry of the Security Council's mandate - meaning at the end of 2005 - the operations of the...

Press Caught Distorting Rumsfeld on Iraq Exit StrategyBloomberg New Service (and others) quote Rumsfeld as saying the U.S. has no exit strategy for Iraq. What did Rumsfeld say? "We don't have an exit strategy, we have a victory strategy." There can be no clearer example of taking a quote out of context - and of distorting the news - than displayed by Bloomberg New Service and many other every other "news" organizations picking up on this story. A partial quote, especially one taken so clearly out of context, is no quote at all. The story here is that Secretary of...

British and American troops will be withdrawn steadily from Iraq starting next year and are likely to be completely out of the country within five years, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said yesterday. Setting out for the first time a possible timetable for departure of foreign forces, Mr Straw said the 7,500 British troops deployed in southern Iraq are unlikely to be reduced before December, when elections for a permanent Iraqi government are due to be held. However, the United Nations mandate for all foreign forces will expire at the start of 2006 and a review of their status is...

British and American troops will start withdrawing steadily from Iraq next year, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said. "The troops are likely to have completely left the country within five years," he said in an interview with the Financial Times published Thursday. Setting out for the first time a possible timetable for withdrawal, Straw said, "The progressive rundown of forces is likely to happen next year. As to the pace, I cannot say until later this year but over the next parliament British troops will be down to virtually nothing." Straw said the 7,500 British troops deployed in southern...

Poland to Pull Troops from Iraq at End of Year By REUTERS Published: April 12, 2005 Filed at 6:20 a.m. ET WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's government decided on Tuesday to withdraw its troops from Iraq at the end of 2005, making official an earlier proposal, Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said. ``At the time of the expiry of the Security Council's mandate -- meaning at the end of 2005 -- the operations of the Polish stabilization mission should be finished,'' Szmajdzinski told a news conference after a cabinet meeting. Poland, a close ally of Washington in Europe and one of the...

Troop Levels in Iraq May Decrease Tuesday, April 12, 2005 PHOTOS VIDEO Click image to enlarge STORIES BACKGROUND LINKS •U.S., Iraqis Nab 65 Suspected Militants•Two Groups Abduct Pakistani, Iraqi Officials•Gitmo Papers Tell Detainees' Stories•Pentagon To Draft New War Detainees Guidelines•GI Wants to Bring Iraq Family to U.S.•Protests Mark Fall of Baghdad•CBS Freelancer Probed in Iraq WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. military commanders have become so pleased with events in Iraq that they expect troop levels (search) to drop to about 100,000 by early next year, depending on the persistence of the insurgency and local security-force training, defense sources confirmed to FOX...

ALARM - Poland will withdraw its troops of Iraq at the end of 2005 WARSAW - Poland will put an end to its mission in Iraq before the end of 2005 with the expiry of the mandate of UNO in this country, declared Tuesday the Minister for Defense Jerzy Szmajdzinski at the end of a meeting of the Council of Ministers.

ASHINGTON, April 10 - Two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the American-led military campaign in Iraq is making enough progress in fighting insurgents and training Iraqi security forces to allow the Pentagon to plan for significant troop reductions by early next year, senior commanders and Pentagon officials say. Senior American officers are wary of declaring success too soon against an insurgency they say still has perhaps 12,000 to 20,000 hard-core fighters, plentiful financing and the ability to change tactics quickly to carry out deadly attacks. But there is a consensus emerging among these top officers and other senior...

Pentagon considers significant troop reductions in Iraq

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces in Iraq could begin coming home in significant numbers if insurgent violence is low through the general elections scheduled for the end of the year, a top general said Wednesday. A larger and more capable insurgency, setbacks in the efforts to develop Iraq security forces, or missed deadlines by the transitional government could delay any significant drawdown, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Lance Smith. Smith, the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, which has military authority over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, commented in an interview with reporters at the Pentagon. "(If) the elections go...

Many of Iraq's predominantly Sunni Arab insurgents would lay down their arms and join the political process in exchange for guarantees of their safety and that of their co-religionists, according to a prominent Sunni politician. Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein, who heads Iraq's main monarchist movement and is in contact with guerrilla leaders, said many insurgents including former officials of the ruling Ba'ath party, army officers, and Islamists have been searching for a way to end their campaign against US troops and Iraqi government forces since the January 30 election. “Firstly, they want to ensure their own security,” says Sharif Ali,...

Many of Iraq's predominantly Sunni Arab insurgents would lay down their arms and join the political process in exchange for guarantees of their safety and that of their co-religionists, according to a prominent Sunni politician. Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein, who heads Iraq's main monarchist movement and is in contact with guerrilla leaders, said many insurgents including former officials of the ruling Ba'ath party, army officers, and Islamists have been searching for a way to end their campaign against US troops and Iraqi government forces since the January 30 election. “Firstly, they want to ensure their own security,” says Sharif Ali,...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Wednesday he understands the desire of U.S. coalition partners to withdraw troops from Iraq, but he declined to set a timetable for bringing American forces home and said he hoped others would also stay the course. ``Our troops will come home when Iraq is capable of defending herself,'' Bush told reporters. Bush spoke a day after Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced plans to start drawing down his country's 3,000-strong contingent in Iraq amid widespread anger over the recent killing of an Italian officer by U.S. troops. Some 14 nations have withdrawn troops since...

PRIME Minister John Howard refuses to rule out a further commitment of Australian troops to Iraq in the wake of Italy's surprise decision to withdraw its forces. Italy, with the fourth-biggest coalition force in Iraq, will start withdrawing troops from its 3000-strong contingent by September, amid growing public opposition to the war. The nation is outraged at the killing of an Italian intelligence agent by US forces in Baghdad 10 days ago. Australia last month committed an extra 450 soldiers to Iraq, to replace a 1400-strong Dutch force guarding Japanese engineers. After initial reluctance to send more troops, Australia is...

Italy will start withdrawing its troops from Iraq in September, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said. More to follow...

Ukraine has announced the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq.The decision will see the pull-out of up to 1650 personnel from the country in three instalments. The first has seen 150 troops leave from an area near As Suwayrah on Saturday, according to reports. All troops are expected to be withdrawn by October. The removal of the Ukraine's forces - the sixth largest contingent in the United States' 'coalition of the willing' - was an election promise by the country's new president, Viktor Yushchenko. Ukraine has lost 18 soldiers in Iraq since committing troops in a decision by former president...

When a politician or a journalist talks about an "exit strategy" from Iraq, there is only one appropriate response: Roll your eyes and leave the room. Imagine some senator or reporter during World War II asking Roosevelt and Churchill to define their "exit strategy" from Europe and the Pacific. They probably would not have dignified the question with an answer. Or, if they had, they might have said: "We have a strategy for victory. The alternative would be a strategy for defeat. Do we look like defeatists to you?" Indeed, the leaders of the Anglo-American alliance made no attempt to...

When a politician or a journalist talks about an “exit strategy” from Iraq, there is only one appropriate response: Roll your eyes and leave the room. Imagine some senator or reporter during World War II asking Roosevelt and Churchill to define their “exit strategy” from Europe and the Pacific. They probably would not have dignified the question with an answer. Or, if they had, they might have said: “We have a strategy for victory. The alternative would be a strategy for defeat. Do we look like defeatists to you?” Indeed, the leaders of the Anglo-American alliance made no attempt to...

People are really starting to understand what strategy is and isn’t. A reader writes: Mr. Gagliardi, I hear alot in the news, particularly from the liberal Democrats, that attacks the Bush policy of finishing the job in Iraq. The democrats keep crying out for what has been constantly called an Exit Strategy. An Exit Strategy? Correct me if I’m wrong, sir.. but if I’m not mistaken, Strategy isn’t a straightforward plan, is it not? We can’t have a single “exit strategy” because things change.. the environment changes and we must adjust to the environment by positioning ourselves to achieve success....

PRESIDENT BUSH is exactly right not to set a deadline for pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq. Announcing a “timetable” for withdrawal would give the terrorists a strategic advantage and undermine our efforts to stabilize the country. There are two primary arguments being made for setting a timetable. One, presented by opponents of the war, is simply that American troops must pull out as quickly as possible because their presence is oppressive and morally wrong. The other, more sophisticated argument, was made in late January by the British government. It is that the coalition should announce an estimated time of...