Poland Will Begin Iraq Troop Pullout in January

The prime minister of Poland told the nation’s Parliament on Friday that he would begin drawing down Polish troops in Iraq in January, another blow to a U.S.-led coalition that already has lost nearly one-third of its members this year.

Addressing his Parliament before a vote of confidence, Prime Minister Marek Belka said, “We will not remain in Iraq an hour longer than is sensible” and necessary to return stability to that nation.

Polish officials had hinted at a troop reduction for nearly two weeks. Their 2,500 troops have a special importance to the international coalition because Warsaw’s forces have led an 8,000-member international division in south-central Iraq. They have been praised repeatedly by President Bush for their service.

Eight other countries have withdrawn all of their troops from the coalition since February: the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain and Thailand.

Officials of two other countries, Ukraine and Moldova, have indicated a desire to exit, and the subject has been under discussion in several other countries, such as the Netherlands and Denmark.

Many members of the coalition have relatively few troops to withdraw. Of the 30 allied nations, only six have 1,000 or more troops in Iraq.

Belka didn’t provide a schedule for the drawdown, but other Polish officials have suggested that they might reduce the force by 40% in the first cut and pull out the rest by the end of next year.

Adam Ereli, a State Department spokesman, said that although the Poles might reduce their contingent, they have promised U.S. officials that they will not withdraw fully until the Iraq mission is completed.

“We have no concern that the Poles are pulling out; to the contrary, they’re telling us they’re not pulling out,” he said. “Whether they change the number of troops or their profile, that’s up to them.... We don’t see in this announcement any lessening of the commitment.”

The strength of the coalition was a major issue in the presidential debates. Bush repeatedly cited the Poles as a steadfast ally. Poland’s decision “is not a great signal, and that’s an understatement,” said Steven A. Cook, a Middle East specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Poland has been one of the most pro-American countries in Europe, and the Polish military contributed special forces to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. But Polish public opinion has gradually turned against the deployment, and polls show that more than three-quarters of Poles want their forces to come home.

Poles’ unhappiness has been increased by their perception that the Bush administration has been stingy in awarding reconstruction work to Poland and has unfairly refused to ease the stiff post-Sept. 11 visa requirements imposed on its citizens and those from neighboring countries. The rules require visitors from Eastern Europe -- unlike those from Western Europe -- to pay a $100 application fee and be interviewed before receiving a visa.

Polish officials have entreated the White House to ease the rules but without result. One Polish newspaper recently said Poland was like a woman who was taken out on a date, then ignored when her date met her on the street the next morning.

On Oct. 4, Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski became the first Polish official to raise the possibility of withdrawal. He said officials wanted to wind down the mission by the end of next year.

Cook said that though the Poles, Ukrainians and Moldovans did not want to pull out abruptly, as the Spanish did this year, they had been signaling their intention to leave.

The departure will create a domestic political problem for Bush, who has been emphasizing the solid support of the “coalition of the willing,” Cook said. It also will create a foreign policy hurdle, he added, because it will make it more difficult for the administration to recruit countries to help in Iraq.

At the same time, Cook said, it may foretell difficulties for Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John F. Kerry, who has promised that if elected he would be able to bring in more help from allies.

Mark Brzezinski, a specialist on Eastern Europe and former staff member with the National Security Council, said Polish officials had been making seemingly conflicting statements on the future of the deployment.

“The fact they’re going back and forth does not indicate a stalwart endorsement of Bush’s policy,” said Brzezinski, who has been an informal advisor to the Kerry campaign. He emphasized that he was speaking only for himself.