Poland in Iraq for the money shock

bloomberg: Polish President Lech Kaczynski agreed in his first major decision since taking up office a week ago to keep troops in Iraq for another year, contrasting with previous leaders' pledges to pull out at the end of 2005.

"In response to the prime minister's request, President Kaczynski prolonged the stay of 1,500 Polish soldiers and military personnel by Dec. 31, 2006,'' the president's press office said on its Web site yesterday evening. According to the Polish constitution, the president is head of the country's armed forces.

Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said on Dec. 27 that the Iraqi government had asked Poland to keep its forces there. Iraq held its first nationwide parliamentary elections since the U.S.-led military invasion of March 2003 on Dec. 15.

The Polish government wants closer ties with the newly elected Iraqi leaders in the hope of winning more business in the rebuilding of the country, Marcinkiewicz said. Poland has earmarked 131 million zloty ($40 million) in next year's budget for a prolonged military presence, he said.

Seventy-five percent of Poles oppose their country's involvement in Iraq, according to a June survey for the Warsaw-based Center for Public Research. Ukraine and Bulgaria, whose soldiers serve in a multinational force under Polish command, are pulling their troops out completely by the end of this year, while the U.K. and Italy have said they will scale back their presence. Read more

db: You want secret CIA prison? You want troops for illegal war? Anything is possible - just show us the money.