Polish govt wants troops to leave Iraq early in 2006

The Polish government wants its troops to leave Iraq in the first few weeks of 2006 after the UN mandate on the multinational force in Iraq expires.

“It is the government’s opinion that together with the end of the UN mandate for the stabilisation mission, all the activity of the Polish stabilisation mission should also end,” said Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski today.

He said that after the resolution expires at the end of the year, it would take “a few weeks” for all the troops and equipment to return to Poland.

While Polish officials have indicated their forces would leave after the resolution expires, Szmajdzinski’s remarks were the most definite about when that might happen.

Szmajdzinski said his statement reflected the position of the Polish Cabinet and would need to be confirmed by President Aleksander Kwasniewski.

Poland commands a multinational force of about 4,700 troops in three provinces in central Iraq.

Poland itself has 1,700 troops in Iraq, a presence that is unpopular at home.

He said the Polish mission could be extended if the UN Security Council voted for a new mandate for the next year or if the Iraqi government asked Poland to keep its troops in the country.