POLAND: It’s Hard Saying Even Goodbye to Iraq

By Zoltán Dujisin Reprint | | Print |

Zoltán Dujisin

PRAGUE, Nov 14 2007 (IPS) - Leaving Iraq will prove harder than going in, especially as Warsaw’s new government’s decision comes amid deadly attacks against Polish interests in Iraq.

Polish pundits have warned a hasty withdrawal could send the wrong signal to those – terrorists or resistance movements – who wish to end the presence of foreign troops in Iraq.

The Oct. 21 early legislative elections in Poland saw the liberal Donald Tusk, head of the Civic Platform (PO), emerge victorious, and promising to end Poland’s mission in Iraq.

Earlier, on Oct. 3 Polish ambassador to Iraq Gen. Edward Pietrzyk was wounded in Baghdad in an attack that claimed the life of a government security officer and two Iraqis.

Polish interests were again hit on Oct. 8 when a car bomb detonated near the Polish embassy, killing one Iraqi civilian.

Two Shia militant groups claimed responsibility for the first attack, and called on Poland to cease its activities in Iraq. “We want to tell Poland that all its interests in Iraq will be targeted by our resistance, including the diplomats, companies and troops. We only exclude journalists,” the groups’ members said in a recorded statement.

The group adds that the recent attack was a retaliatory step taken as a result of Polish troops torturing prisoners. Polish troops were recently responsible for the capture of several suspected terrorists.

Polish officials have rebuffed the accusations, claiming its soldiers are not in charge of any prisons in Iraq.

Following the attacks former prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski vowed not to “desert” Iraq and his defence minister Aleksander Szczyglo warned the opposition that anyone campaigning on the Iraqi issue would bear “full responsibility” for the welfare of the Poles stationed there.

Still, in a country were 80 percent of the population opposes the presence of Polish troops in the Middle East, the Iraqi war inevitably became one of the major topics of the election campaign.

A poll last month indicated that more than 70 percent of Poles believe Poland’s participation in the Iraqi and Afghani military missions makes the country a potential target of international terrorism.

The government hopes to complete the withdrawal by mid-2008, but the conservative President Lech Kaczynski, a supporter of the Polish mission in Iraq, could veto the decision, especially if he perceives it as hasty.

Tusk says the nature of Poland’s presence in Iraq will have to gradually and slowly change but, in a reassuring tone, said this would be done in “agreement with our most important ally, the United States.”

However Tusk did not hesitate to call the Iraqi mission one that “does not make sense any more.”

“We already know that the new Polish government wants to finish the mission in its current form,” Jacek Przybylski, deputy foreign editor of the leading Polish daily Rzeczpospolita told IPS. “Tusk didn’t say what exactly he means but I know from CO politicians that they will reduce the number of troops next year and they will be withdrawn gradually and after consultations with allies.”

There is speculation the Polish side could coordinate its disengagement strategy with Britain, another faithful ally of the U.S. that following a recent leadership change has expressed a wish to reduce its presence in Iraq.

The war is also highly unpopular with the U.S. public, and Polish commentators expect Washington not to resent the Polish position and to end its own presence after the U.S. presidential election in late 2008.

“The withdrawal will have no effect on U.S.-Polish relations because it will be preceded by consultations,” Przybylski told IPS. “I don’t think Washington wouldn’t show understanding, countries are withdrawing their troops one after the other.”

Polish troops are concentrated in central-southern Iraq, where rather than terrorists they face a Shia resistance movement with strong popular backing.

By now public and experts alike are skeptical of any chances to bring stability, let alone democracy, to the country under the present conditions. They point out that Poland has done considerably more than could be asked from it, and that the contingent can no longer make a difference in Iraq.

The initially one-year Iraqi mission commenced in 2003 under the left wing government of former prime minister Leszek Miller, and there was little opposition to a move that was supposed to bring Poland ever closer to the United States.

Many Poles believe the country’s sovereignty is not entirely secured, and only a strong alliance with Washington can protect Poland from foreign threats. Others hoped Poland would gain unprecedented military experience in a distant and unknown country.

Though back in 2005 up to 2,500 Polish soldiers were present in Iraq, only 900 remain by now.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Poland and Australia are the only countries providing troops that participate in occasional raids, though the Polish contingent also performs training activities.

With one of the most robust contributions to the U.S.-led effort, the Iraqi war has cost Poland the lives of 27 soldiers, and approximately 250 million euro. Moreover, there is general agreement that Poland has not reaped, or was not allowed to reap investment opportunities following the invasion.