WARSAW, Dec 15 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Poland's new Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday he wanted the last Polish troops out of Iraq by October 2008.
"The government is submitting a motion to terminate our military mission in Iraq by October 2008," Polish TV news channels showed Tusk telling reporters.
"Although President Lech Kaczynski holds a somewhat different view, I believe we shall reach an understanding and he will not block the withdrawal of the Polish military mission."
The liberal prime minister added he was planning a pre-Christmas visit to Iraq, where 900 Polish troops are stationed, but gave no details.
Tusk, who heads the business-friendly Civic Platform party, had pledged to withdraw the Polish forces in 2008 in his inaugural address to parliament last month without giving a date.
President Kaczynski did not immediately comment on Tusk's statement, but his twin brother Jaroslaw, the former prime minister swept out of office in October's election, called the move "a mistake".
"Since we have been there so many years and suffered losses, it is not worth making moves that cast doubt on those efforts and may deprive us of any political advantage," Kaczynski told a news conference.
Poland, the largest ex-communist NATO member, backed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and originally had up to 2,500 Polish troops in a multi-national division under its command.
bdnews24.com/fhb/2331 hrs.
