POLAND ENDS IRAQ MISSION
by Amal Jayasinghe
Agence France Presse
October 4, 2008 Saturday 2:29 PM GMT
Poland formally ended its Iraq mission in the Shiite province of
Diwaniyah on Saturday leaving US troops to take their place, as an
Iraqi commander warned insurgency could re-emerge.
Poland’s final contingent of 900 troops would return home by end of
the month and the withdrawal process was already underway, a military
official told journalists at the ceremony in this central Iraqi town.
Warsaw’s Defence Minister Bogdan Klich attended the ceremony and
parade, where troops from Armenia, Mongolia, Romania, Ukraine, Latvia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States also participated.
"We feel responsible for the future of Iraq. The completion of our
mission does not mean end of our engagement," Klich said. "We hope
to cooperate in Iraq’s economic and financial areas."
Iraq’s top military commander, General Babaker Zebari, thanked Polish
troops for helping restore stability in the region, but warned that
security gains should not be taken for granted.
"We should not sit back. We have to preserve the security and stability
that we have achieved," Zebari said. "The terrorists have a way of
re-activating themselves."
The multinational forces flag was lowered at Diwaniyah’s Camp Echo
and presented to Klich by the Polish commander in Iraq, Major General
Andrzej Malinowski, an AFP correspondent reported.
Malinowski told reporters the 900 troops deployed in Diwaniyah and
its surroundings will be pulled out by end of the month.
Klich said that "the current security situation remains stable and
better," adding that Poland was happy to have been part of the US-led
coalition.
"Solidarity among friends. That is why we participated in a difficult
and dangerous mission in Iraq."
In its more than five years of military involvement in Iraq, Poland
has lost 21 soldiers and seen 70 others wounded, according to a US
military statement on Saturday.
Around 15,000 Polish soldiers had been deployed in Iraq since the
2003 war, it said.
"Today is a day of mixed emotions. I can’t help but feel a bit
of sadness," said the top US military commander in Iraq, General
Raymond Odierno.
"I have known seven out of the 10 (Polish) commanders personally. You
have been close and trusted friends."
Odierno told reporters that the timing of the Polish withdrawal was
"good," as security in the region has improved.
"We will be sending some troops to this place but not as much as
before," he added.
Odierno described the Polish contribution as "absolutely outstanding"
and said the sacrifices of Polish lives will not be forgotten.
Heavily armed troops guarded the main stage from where the dignitaries
watched the multinational forces together with Iraqi police and
army parade at a football-field size ground barricaded by concrete
blast walls.
US Apache attack helicopters and surveillance aircraft were seen
over the base. Local politicians and tribal leaders also attended
the ceremony.
After the formal Polish farewell, local Shiite lawmaker Sheikh Hussein
al-Shalan said all foreign troops must leave, but after training
Iraqi forces on how to deal with "terrorism and terrorists."
In July the Us-led forces handed over to the Iraqis security control
of Diwaniyah, which has seen occasional outbursts of intense Shiite
infighting.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who came to power in October 2007,
pledged a quick withdrawal from Iraq during his election campaign.
With the withdrawal by Warsaw, the US-led coalition that invaded Iraq
in 2003 has further shrunk.
In May 2003, two months after the US invasion, the occupying force
was made up of 150,000 Americans and 23,000 other troops from 40
countries. Now, US numbers are around 144,000 while the coalition
has shrunk to less than 10,000.
The coalition now is made up of Britain, Romania, El Salvador,
Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Mongolia, Czech Republic, Armenia,
Macedonia, Tonga, Lithuania, Bosnia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine,
Latvia and Moldova.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
