Reply #7: They've already announced it

[NoPasaran]

Monday, October 4, 2004

Minister’s revelation surprises Warsaw

BERLIN In a surprise announcement, Poland said Monday that it would withdraw its troops from Iraq by the end of 2005, leaving the U.S.-led multinational forces the task of finding replacements to fill a crucial security role in south-central Iraq.

Jerzy Szmajdzinski, Poland's defense minister, said in an interview with the daily Gazeta Wyborcza that the withdrawal of the 2,500 troops should coincide "with the expiry of United Nations Resolution 1546 of the Security Council." Once the troops are withdrawn, South Korea will be the third-largest contributor of soldiers to Iraq.

Resolution 1546, passed unanimously by the UN Security Council in June, declared the end of the occupation of Iraq and endorsed a "fully sovereign and independent" interim government to serve from June 30 until elections in January of next year. The multinational forces in Iraq operate under a UN mandate that is scheduled to expire at the end of 2005, when a permanent Iraqi government is in place.

Szmajdzinski's announcement surprised Poland's allies inside NATO and even its own diplomats.

http://www.iht.com/articles/541866.htm