I guess Bush's favourite coalition member isn't as loyal as he'd hoped. Or maybe they were just severely embarrassed at being the catch phrase of every joke mocking his pathetic debate performance. In any case, CNN
reports:
Poland may reduce its commitment of forces to the war in Iraq by 40 percent by January 2005 and have all its troops out by the end of that year, Polish officials said Monday...
Polish President Aleksander Kwasnieswski said a withdrawal is in the discussion stage but could not be finalized until after Iraqi elections scheduled for January.
"I hope the election will happen. Then the election will give (Iraq) a new government with a strong mandate, and then we will speak with the new Iraqi government about the presence of international forces -- including Polish forces -- in the year 2005," said Kwasnieswski, who was in Paris for a meeting with French President Jacques Chirac. [edit: hmmmm]
A Defense Ministry spokesman said Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski told the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza that Poland planned a 40 percent reduction in January, followed by complete withdrawal by the end of the year.
Currently, Poland has 2,500 troops committed to Operation Iraqi Freedom, but would reduce that number to 1,500 January 2005, the spokesman said, and the remaining troops would leave Iraq by December 2005.
By the way, can anyone tell me how to make that nice blue box to put quotes in?