Poland and Iraq discuss troop cut

Published: 27 July 2005 y., Wednesday

Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka has arrived in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, for talks with his counterpart, Ibrahim Jaafari, on Polish troop levels.
The pair are to discuss the scheduled withdrawal of 1,500 of the soldiers from Iraq early next year.

The Polish government has been a staunch supporter of the US-led coalition in Iraq.

However, the policy is now unpopular with the public and it no longer has the funds or soldiers to sustain it.

When the US invited Polish troops to command a huge multi-national force in southern Iraq two years ago, the Polish government saw it as a great opportunity to improve its armed forces and Poland's international standing. Even though much of the public originally supported the idea of sending troops to Iraq opinions have now changed.

Many of the expected economic and political benefits have not materialised. And now the overwhelming majority of Poles want the soldiers to come home.

Šaltinis: BBC News
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

Berlusconi survives confidence vote

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi wins a no-confidence motion in parliament by a margin of only three votes. more »

Snow storm pounds US Midwest

A powerful snow storm is playing havoc with travel plans in the US Midwest as more than 2,000 flights are canceled in Chicago. more »

Third EU-Africa summit: MEPs call for an EU law on "blood minerals"

The European Parliament backed plans to create an EU law ensuring traceability of imported minerals, as a tool to combat illegal exploitation of conflict minerals in African countries, in a resolution passed on Wednesday. more »

Commissioner Georgieva makes a plea for cholera victims in Haiti

Commissioner Georgieva said “The anti–cholera efforts undertaken before of the post–electoral riots have reduced the daily rate of cholera deaths from 50 on 23th of November to 22 on 4th of December." more »

Passengers return from Artic cruise

Passengers onboard a damaged cruise ship return to safety in Argentina. more »

Civil society needs to play a greater role in EU–Russia relations, says the EESC

In the immediate wake of the successful EU–Russia Summit, the European Economic and Social Committee is discussing its own–initiative opinion on EU‑Russia relations in the presence of Vladimir Chizhov, Russian Ambassador to the EU. more »

UK students protest tuition hike

Students demonstrate on the streets of London, in protest over a that would allow tuition fees to treble. more »

Bomb attack on Lenin statue

A bomb destroys part of a Lenin statue near Saint Petersburg, the latest such attack on a monument to the founder of the Soviet Union. more »

Pollution warning over Ganges

Residents living along the historic Ganges River in eastern India complain water pollution is on the rise. more »

Two held over Israel fire

Israeli police arrest two people on suspicion of starting a huge forest fire through negligence. more »