I wouldn't be so quick to judge Poland. There's a lot here to be OK with.
"At the same time, President Aleksander Kwasniewski defended the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam, saying it "made sense."
Referring to prewar Western intelligence assessments of Saddam's arsenal, he told a news conference: "From the information that we have, the word 'misled' seems to me the right word. This is the problem of the United States, of Britain and also of many other nations."
"We were informed that weapons of mass destruction are in Iraq, that there is a probability of the existence of such weapons," he said. "Today, this information is not confirmed."
Kwasniewski's remarks to a small group of European reporters were his first hint of criticism about war in Iraq, where Poland has 2,400 troops and commands one of three sectors of the U.S.-led occupation. The United States and Britain command the other two.
The 9,500-strong multinational force under Polish authority in south-central Iraq includes 1,300 Spanish troops. Spain's new government, elected in the wake of Madrid's worst terror attack, has said it will withdraw troops from Iraq by June 30 unless the United Nations (news - web sites) takes control of peacekeeping.
Kwasniewski, speaking after a meeting of his top security officials to discuss Poland's response to the Madrid railway bombings, said he will urge Spain to reconsider.
He also emphasized that Poland is not about to abandon its mission in Iraq, despite his shift in tone on the question of weapons of mass destruction.
"Naturally, one may protest the reasons for the war action in Iraq. I personally think that today, Iraq without Saddam Hussein is a truly better Iraq than with Saddam Hussein," Kwasniewski told the European reporters. .....
[Also, he seems to take the position of Hans Blix, that the allies were misled by defectors eager to see Saddam overthrown]. " |
