Poland's envoy under fire

Poland's ambassador to Iraq, General Edward Pietrzyk, was wounded in a terrorist attack last Wednesday. A three-car convoy carrying the ambassador was destroyed in Baghdad at around 10:00 am local time in what was described as a car-bomb blast. Ambassador Pietrzyk was wounded in the ambush, while a member of his security detail and an Iraqi civilian were killed.

Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński said that the attack would not lead Poland to withdraw its troops from Iraq.

"Desertion is always the worst solution," he told reporters. He also stressed that Poland's military presence in the country didn't endanger its diplomatic mission more than that of any other country. "Any embassy in Iraq could be attacked," he said.

The attack took place near the Polish Embassy, situated outside Baghdad's high-security Green Zone. Poland has been negotiating for some time to move its mission inside the zone, but a shortage of available land made for slow progress on the issue. Polish officials now say a plot has been designated for a new embassy and work is underway.

Reactions from political rivals were cautiously supportive. Bronisław Komorowski, a front bencher in Civic Platform and a former Defense Minister said, "We should not make a rush judgment and break any existing commitments." He added, however, that "Poland should not extend the mission and it's disconcerting that President Kaczyński has suggested the mission could be prolonged even beyond 2008."

Former President and current Prime Ministerial candidate Aleksander Kwaśniewski was of a similar opinion.

"The mission is coming to an end and now is the time to end it. Should President Lech Kaczyński ask me, I would say we have to pull out by the end of the year," Kwaśniewski said. (Reuters)