| Well, no, he didn't actually *name* a date, just said that he plans to name a date. At any rate, thank you, Polska, and keep an eye on Vlad there in your rear view mirror. |
Polish Prime Minister-designate Donald Tusk said his future government would seek to end the nation's military mission in Iraq next year, according to an interview published Wednesday. Donald Tusk made pulling out of Iraq a top issue in his election campaign.
Poland, a staunch U.S. ally, sent combat troops to the 2003 war in Iraq and still has some 900 soldiers stationed in the southeast, despite public displeasure with the mission. Polish troops now primarily train Iraqi forces and renovate schools and hospitals. "We want to finish the mission in this form in 2008," Tusk was quoted as saying by the daily Polska. He did not elaborate.
| Doesn't need to. The Poles have hung in there for us, and we should appreciate everything they've done. We'd like to get some of our boys out in '08 so we shouldn't begrudge the Poles. Thank you, Poland. |
A survey released Wednesday by the CBOS institute found that 81 percent of Poles oppose the military mission in Iraq. The poll of 1,385 adults, conducted Oct. 10-14, gave a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
According to the interview published Wednesday, Tusk vowed to continue good relations with Washington, but did not say whether Poland would permit a proposed U.S. missile defense base on its territory. "We must know whether (the base) increases or diminishes Poland's security before making the final decision," Tusk was quoted as saying. "Thus far, the Polish government has not been able to answer these questions." Kaczynski has voiced strong support for accepting 10 interceptors as part of global missile shield. The U.S. also hopes to set up a radar base in Poland's southwestern neighbor, the Czech Republic, as part of the system. Polish and U.S. officials have held four rounds of bilateral talks, but have yet to reach a deal. |