President Aleksander Kwasniewski reassured President Bush today that Polish troops will stay in Iraq "as long as needed," a day after suggesting they might leave months early.
In a phone call from Bush, Kwasniewski also brought up his remark Thursday that he was "misled" by intelligence about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.
He said "misunderstandings" about his remarks should be discounted because Poland's alliance with the United States was strong, his national security adviser Marek Siwiec said.
"We will be in Iraq as long as needed to achieve the intended goals, plus one day longer," Kwasniewski told Bush, according to Siwiec.
The White House has been distributing a statement from Kwasniewski's office which said, in part:
"Poland will not withdraw from Iraq until the mission of stabilization is successfully accomplished and counts on effective cooperation with the United States, Great Britain, Spain and other NATO and U.N. member states," the statement said.
"Any demonstration of weakness in view of terrorist attacks undermines the foundations of democracy, nations' security and world peace," it said.
This shows true understanding of the conflict we find ourselves in. The terrorists assume we will be weak and decadant. The US has surprised them by acting totally opposite to their expectations. Spain, on the hand, has not. Poland's leadership has shown that they know that weakness in the face of the enemy will only invite further and greater attacks until you have given them everything they want. They know what it's like to live under a totalitarian regime. They've demonstrated that they're not going back.
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