Polish troops move into Iraq from Jordan; President signs orders

The 74 Polish soldiers from Brodnica anti-chemical warfare units and the Opole logistics units, which were placed in Jordan since March, have now been moved to Iraq. On June 10, they will be accompanied by the so-called initiative group, consisting of several dozen Polish officers and experts, who will be responsible for preparing the ground to welcome the main forces to arrive in Iraq by mid-August. "The Polish division is fully manned," Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdziński told Rzeczpospolita. Almost half of the division's commanding forces will consist of Polish officers, mainly from the Szczecin 12th Mechanized Division. The remaining posts will be taken by soldiers from NATO countries that expressed their willingness to send contingents to the Polish zone in Iraq. On Friday, President Aleksander Kwaśniewski signed a declaration to allow the use of the Polish Military Contingent, according to which, 2,500 Polish troops will be based on Iraqi soil from June 9 until December 31. (Rzeczpospolita, June 7-8, pp. A1, A3) M.M