"Well, actually, he forgot Poland...." -- George W. Bush, 9/30/04

[radfringe]

With news of Poland pulling out -- this may go down as one of the "great" presidential "quotes"

Kerry and Edwards might want to make a note of this for use in next couple of weeks -- The coalition of the willing is turning into the coalition of the unwilling. When giving a list of countries that have pulled-out, they may want to quip ..."oh yeah, can't forget about Poland...."

Status as of July-2004
U.S. Works to Sustain Iraq Coalition
4 Nations Have Left, 4 More Are Getting Ready to Leave International Force
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50417-2004Jul14.html
By Robin Wright and Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writers -- Thursday, July 15, 2004; Page A01






For those of you who remember the Julia Child's skits on SNL (years ago) -- There was one where Julia ends up slicing herself, bleeds all over the place and just before she collapses on the floor she shouts "don't forget the liver..."

Wonder why this reminds me of bush*...? :evilgrin:

[mike from ri]

1. where is the documentation that poland is, indeed, pulling out

where is it written?

[TaleWgnDg]

2. it's on another DU thread where there are hyperlinked urls to

source material to substantiate that, indeed, Poland is pulling out . . . it makes one stop and think that this president is less presidential and knowledgeable than any other that I can remember . . . in other words, he only knows what the damn flashcards tell him to know . . . how scary can it get?

just a sec, I'll pull up the DU thread.

edited to add the DU thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x882236

[radfringe]

5. Poland to Reduce Force In Iraq

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1347208,00.html

Poland will significantly reduce its number of troops in Iraq by the end of 2005, the country's defense minister said on Monday. The move could reflect some Poles' increasing dissatisfaction with American policies.

In the run-up to the US-led invasion of Iraq, Poland was one of America's staunchest supporters. All of Poland's major political parties supported the war and 2,500 troops were sent to help with the war effort. Those soldiers now lead an 8,000 strong multinational force, which controls south-central Iraq.

But Poland's Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski was quoted in Monday's issue of the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza as saying that Poland would significantly reduce its commitment to the region. According to the report, Poland will reduce its forces in Iraq by 40 percent -- from 2,500 to 1,500 -- by the end of 2005.

[Arancaytar]

8. Found it on Google pretty easily.

Search "Poland to withdraw from Iraq", or to get the article cited most often, "WARSAW, Poland – President Aleksander Kwasniewski, a key Washington ally, said Thursday", the start of the article.

Here's one link picked at random.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/3/18/153428.shtml

WARSAW, Poland – President Aleksander Kwasniewski, a key Washington ally, said Thursday that he might withdraw troops early from Iraq and that Poland was "misled" about the threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

[NV1962]

3. Well, actually, he forgot Spain too....

That pesky place that applied regime change in the ballot box, after catching their government shamelessly lieing to them for electoral purposes...

Dunno if there's a parallel there... Just thought I'd share that... :shrug:

:evilgrin:

[LynnTheDem]

6. Spain wasn't part of the invasion

Only the USA (295,000 troops) and the UK (45,000) and Australia (2000) and the 200 Poles were part of the actual invasion.

Other nations only supplied troops during the occupation as peacekeepers. Which is why most have since left Iraq; they were never intended for combat.

[TaleWgnDg]

7. yup . . . and recall that Dumbya LOVED to brag about . . .

Spain this and Spain that . . . and just about hug the guy for the cameras. Dropping sound bites here and there.

That's what lost the Spanish guy the election! What an ass is George Walker Bush! Totally out-of-touch w/ reality and world affairs!

. . . . .

[LynnTheDem]

4. Yes Kerry forgot

All 200 of those Polish troops that helped us invade Iraq!


Poland Wants To Leave Iraq As Soon As Possible:

http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=25064

Poland planning pull-out of troops from Iraq

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2004/0420/3783682793HM1SCALLY.html

Polish public opinion remains overwhelmingly opposed to Poland's participation in the US-led multinational force in Iraq.

[VOX]

9. The "coalition of the willing" is losing more parts than an old jalopy...

on a cross-country chase.

It's really time to fire the whole * administration