East European nations keep Iraq role small

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PRAGUE -- Central and Eastern European political leaders, caught between growing domestic discontent over the war in Iraq and a desire to maintain good relations with Washington, have increasingly adopted a minimalist approach to the continuing conflict.

"They try to do as little as possible for their own political reasons, which is: In a democracy, they want to have popular support," says Charles Gati, an East European scholar at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

"On the other hand, they want to do something, so they remain favorably regarded by Washington," he said.

When President Bush put together a coalition to invade Iraq, few governments, and people were more eager to support the United States than the Polish.

The report reflected an affection for America going back to the days of communism and U.S. support for Poland's pioneering efforts in the 1980s to free itself from Soviet hegemony, but nearly two years after the U.S.-led invasion, public opinion polls show increasing disillusionment among Polish voters because of the relentless insurgency and the realization that Iraq apparently didn't have weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

"Polish political elites by and large are in favor of keeping the troops in Iraq, [but] 75 percent of public opinion is opposed," said Konstanty Gebert, a columnist for the country's most prominent newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza.

"Most people feel deceived by the reasons given by the U.S. for the war, since no WMD were found," Mr. Gebert said. "They also believe that the intensity of the Iraqi resistance indicates that we are not liberators, but occupiers and believe it is wrong for us to play that role."

About 700 of Poland's 2,450 troops in Iraq are coming home, said Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Piotr Pertek.

"The Polish military presence in Iraq was to provide stabilization to the country and its people," Col. Pertek said. "Now, after the successful [Iraqi] elections, the reduction of the Polish contingent became possible. Polish engagement will gradually change from stabilization to training mission."

He would not comment on the decline of public support for Polish troops in Iraq.