Poland hints at Iraq withdrawal

Poland may follow Spain’s example and pull its troops out of Iraq.

“We will not make any rash gestures,” outgoing Prime Minister Leszek Miller said today. “The final decision about the pullout will be agreed and thought over, but the problem exists.”

“We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that Spain and others are leaving Iraq,” he said.

Miller, who is stepping down on May 2, said the problem would be addressed by his successor.

“I cannot say when we will leave Iraq, but I am sure the new prime minister will be more precise,” Miller said.

Poland leads a multinational force of 9,500 troops in central Iraq, including 2,400 Polish troops. The 1,300 Spanish troops that the new Madrid government has said it will withdraw are also in the sector.

Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski indicated that Poland would refrain any sudden move like the pullout announcement by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero hours after he was sworn in Sunday.

“Work continues on how to make up for the losses and how to organise the division so that its tasks are carried out. But that takes time,” Szmajdzinski said.

Following the Spanish lead, Honduras and the Dominican Republic said they too would bring their troops home soon.