The fine details of Polish troops in Iraq begins to be hammered out

Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdziński met with American Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld during participation in a Washington conference on NATO and Ukraine. The main issue discussed during their meeting was Poland's role in helping reconstruct post Saddam Iraq. The two talked about the possibility that American might at least partially pay for the stay of Polish soldiers in Iraq, which is the main factor currently influencing the decision about the number of Polish troops to be deployed over there. Poland would be in charge of either the northern sector, or the so-called upper southern sector, which lies between Baghdad and Basra. Minister Szmajdziński will also meet with NATO General Secretary Lord George Robertson who is also participating in the conference. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 1; www.polskiera dio.pl) M.M. Ex Finance Minister likely to become senior humanitarian aid official in Former finance minister Marek Belka announced that he has been offered a job of becoming the Deputy Head of the Office for Reconstruction and Human itarian Aid in Iraq by the Polish government. He said that he will accept the proposal provided it is accepted by the Americans as well. "I am c onsidering this offer very seriously and in fact I should say that I intend to accept it," Belka said. Earlier on Monday Prime Minister Leszek Miller hinted Belka may get the job when he said that the candidate for the p osition is a famous economist from Łódź. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A1; www.o net.pl) A.Z.