Poland's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government Tuesday decided to keep troops in Iraq until the end of 2006, Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz announced in Warsaw, DPA reported. Poland's previous left-wing Democratic Left Alliance government had announced a pull-out by the end of this year. A senior Polish military commander confirmed Tuesday that by March Poland's contingent will be reduced from the current 1,450 troops to 900. The soldiers will stay on to train Iraqi security forces in the country's south-central zone currently under Polish command. Marcinkiewicz said Iraqi authorities had requested Poland's continued military presence in Iraq, warning that Iraqi forces were not yet ready to assume full security responsibilities. "We want to withdraw, but gradually, by degrees - not all at once," he said. "Despite appearances, stabilization is increasing," he insisted, pointing out that democracy was taking root. The PiS government on Tuesday forwarded a formal request for the extension of the Iraq mission to newly inaugurated PiS President Lech Kaczynski. As Poland's head of state and chief military commander, he is expected to give the mission his full approval despite the fact that survey show a majority of Poles oppose the mission. Marcinkiewicz also revealed Tuesday that as of January Poland would begin new forms of economic cooperation with Iraq, but declined to specify their nature.
