Catholic Easter Sunday 2006 in Polish "White Eagle" Camp, Bagram, Afghanistan
Posted on 05/10/2007 2:28:58 PM PDT by lizol
Poland beefs up Afghanistan force
10.05.2007
Poland will be adding more troops to the contingent already fighting a resurgent Taliban.
Report by Bogdan Zaryn
Currently, a small number of Polish soldiers have been taking part in the NATO led UN mandated International Security Assistance Force ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Earlier this year Warsaw said that it intends to bolster the Polish presence in Afghanistan buy sending more polish troops.
NATO is hoping that their mission will be the result of two important directives: Peace and stability. Earlier this year Poland sent close to 400 soldiers to work along side their NATO counterparts. Former Defense Minister Radoslaw Sikorski believes that Poland’s presence in the ISAF mission symbolizes just how loyal Warsaw is to NATO.
“Our investment is in the credibility of NATO. We don’t have a selfish national interest but as an Alliance we have an interest in convincing potential adversaries that when NATO goes to war , NATO wins.”
Afghanistan ambassador to Poland Abdul Haider says that Poland’s commitment to help its NATO allies clamp down on acts of terrorism, the drug trafficking and Taliban resurgence symbolizes just how strong relations are between Warsaw and Kabul.
‘It’s a good step that Poland is there because in these days we
really need it. We have established a friendship since 1927 so its is a long diplomatic relation and friendship so in these days when Polish soldiers come to Afghanistan and help us is welcomed and we are happy. We really need the coalition forces from all of our friendly countries to help us in the fight against terrorism and Al-Qaeda”.
Poland has pledged to send close to one thousand troops to Afghanistan this year. Krzysztof Bobinski from the Polish Institute of International Affairs says that this mission will be a hard pill to swallow for plenty of Poles
“Poland is going to be quite heavily involved in the fighting in Afghanistan. Poland will be fighting unreservedly in the sense that they it won’t make any conditions where it puts its forces. But I think the main thing people have to understand is that fighting , shooting firing rockets and guns is not the way to win this war. To end this wart is to do something about the governments in Afghanistan and do something in the development of the country”
Agencies report that Taliban insurgents and armed Afghan groups continue to process opium in makeshift labs to maximize drug profits and better finance the fight against Western forces. Meanwhile former Defense Minister Sikorski has just re-issued his book called Dust of the Saints. The book highlights just how friendly the Afghani people are towards foreign forces who have decided to help bring peace and stability to their war torn country. A recent public survey shows that nearly 80% of Poles are against the deployment of their countrymen to Afghanistan.
Catholic Easter Sunday 2006 in Polish "White Eagle" Camp, Bagram, Afghanistan
Thank you Poland!
They are true friends. G-D Bless Poland.
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