Up to 200 troops to go to Iraq

President Aleksander Kwasniewski signed on Monday night permission to send a Polish military contingent of no more than 200 soldiers in the event of military intervention in Iraq. The decision was preceded by long and lively discussion by the government. "There are moments in history when in order to preserve peace, one has to fight," explained Kwasniewski. He presented war against the Hussein regime as a continuation of war on terrorism, which "has to be carried out as thoroughly as possible... Peace yes, but not at the price of violence and terrorism," explained the President. Both Kwasniewski and the Cabinet were still hoping that the tension could be resolved peacefully. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A8) M.M.