No end in sight for Polish tour of duty

According to Colonel Leszek Laszczak, a final decision on whether to keep Polish troops in Iraq past January will not be made until Defense Minister Radosław Sikorski returns from a trip to Washington at the end of this month.

The colonel refused to comment on a report featured in the Polish press, claiming that Polish troop levels in Iraq would be reduced to between 1,000 and 900. He would only divulge that "several options of action" remain open and would require further discussions with Poland's allies.

Poland's new center-right government has suggested that troops could remain in Iraq beyond early 2006.

In a statement that may point to the government's real plan, Defense Minister Sikorski told troops in Iraq that they may stay there for months yet. (Reuters)