Anxious Poland may follow Spain's lead and withdraw troops
Ian Traynor, and Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Thursday April 22, 2004
The Guardian
George Bush's staunchest ally in continental Europe yesterday signalled it was getting cold feet over its military presence in Iraq.
Poland's prime minister, Leszek Miller, said he was considering a retreat from Iraq and conceded that the decision by the new Spanish government to pull out was a problem - a view echoed by the conservative Australian prime minister, John Howard.
Australia has 800 servicemen and women in Iraq, while Poland has a detachment of 2,400 and is in command of 9,500 soldiers from 23 countries, including Spain, in the south-central sector of Iraq that has been rocked by intense insurgency in the past few weeks.
Ordinary Poles are anxious about possible terrorist attacks in Poland, particularly after the Madrid bombings. The centre of Warsaw, where there will be a conference of European leaders this weekend, is being turned into a fortress.
Zbigniew Siemiakowski, Poland's intelligence chief, did not help to calm anxiety by recently stating: "We have untested structures and zero experience in reacting to such events. The shock society could experience in the aftermath of the attack could have incalculable political and social consequences."
After the Madrid bombings, Mr Miller pledged that Poland would maintain its mission in Iraq. Anything else would "signal admission that the terrorists are stronger than the entire civilised world".
But yesterday he said: "A final decision about the withdrawal date will be agreed and well thought through ... We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the Spanish and others are leaving Iraq."
While the Australian prime minister said the Australian troops would not "cut and run" because of the announced withdrawals by Spain, Honduras, the Dominican Republic and, possibly, Thailand, he also, like Poland, said there was no prospect of sending more Australians to Iraq. The withdrawals were "regrettable", Mr Howard told a Melbourne radio station.
"It will encourage the terrorists. It will make it harder for those who are left, no doubt about that."
The new Spanish government indicated yesterday that the 1,300 Spanish soldiers could be pulled out of Iraq a month sooner than previously stated.
José Bono, the defence minister, told El País that Spanish troops could be home by the end of May, a month earlier than the June 30 deadline set by the prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
The Pentagon is considering whether to reverse plans to reduce troop levels in Iraq before the November elections. It is studying plans for an increased force of 135,000 US servicemen and women to remain in Iraq for an indefinite period - barely a fortnight after announcing the increase as a temporary measure.
Officials attributed the measure to difficulties in recruiting new foreign troops and in training Iraqi forces.
Some of the shortages are aggravated by the decision of the occupation administrator, Paul Bremer, to bar former Ba'ath party members, including career officers in the Iraqi army, from government jobs, putting tens of thousands out of work, especially those from the powerful Sunni minority.
"There are a number of Sunnis who are very good, courageous and determined people, who, if given a chance, would be part of the solution in Iraq," Major General John Batiste, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, told the Washington Post: "They would be schoolteachers. They would be engineers."
But troop shortages are not the only challenge. The army said it had identified some $6bn in funding requests that went unmet in next year's budget. These include $132m for vehicle armour and $879m for uniforms and helmets, as well as $956m for repair of equipment.
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