Polish-led Iraqi force to be dispatched in July

A multinational peacekeeping force of up to 7,500 troops under Polish command is to be sent to Iraq in July. "The deployment will take place in July... and [the force] will be fully operational in August," Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski told public radio. He told the news conference that U.S. President George W. Bush would be briefed on preparations during his visit on Saturday. Poland has assembled 75% of its division, to be located in the central-southern zone, between Baghdad and the port of Basra. Polish troops will be accompanied by military forces from Ukraine, Bulgaria, Denmark (10 officers), Fiji, as well as Albania, Lithuania, Spain, the Netherlands and Indonesia. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, A3, Reuters) A.C.