US Military: The Army of Poland is crap.

Very true. Which brings us back to Polish soldiers. Are they doing this for the good of their health? Where is the appreciation rather than the criticism? Upon what are they being judged?

They are doing it because they enlisted, just like all the other G.I.s out there...

And for what reason? Serving their country's national interest? Rescuing anyone? Reducing global terror? Why are they there?

You yourself have criticized the Taliban in the past so you must know what they are like. There's titanium or something there as well. Al Quaeda has moved to Pakistan, they say. That is why the international community is there. They want to oust Al Quaeda, moderate the Taliban and harvest minerals.

Well, there are things to criticise for sure but that's not why NATO moved in. If they really wanted to remove bad guys from the world, or so-called bad guys, then why did Kim Jong-Il last for so long in power? Their motives are so transparent.

The only reason they haven't is because of big brother China. That is the only reason he lingers. Sounds like they are about to take him out, though. We'll have to see what transpires in the new year.

Russia have them too and they are any times more reliable than polish one. Russians friends are - Russian Army and Russian Fleet.

It's guke and for all Orientals, and not slang but an ethnic slur.


In Iraq (i'm sure in Afghanistan also) Polish soldiers were liked by the local population for respecting Muslims and their ways, like not barging in a house with dogs, or kicking the door in, without trying to knock first. A little respect does a long way.

how close? are they shagging each other?

When looking for dangerous armed terrorists , its always a good idea to knock on the door to let them know you are coming....

It gives them time to clear off out of the back door , or grab their weapons and shoot you...

We had a little ditty that we used to refer to the US Army:

"All the gear and no idea, All the kit and full of sh&t."

It seems you were a squadie....?

how do you know your only way to American citizenship is through Army

lol no, but if a person is innocent and you break his door down treat him like a terrorist you might have a situation where a person who used to be neutral to your presence in his country, now hates your guts.

But you might not know if the person behind the door is an innocent civilian or a terrorist..?

Once a terrorist puts down his gun , he looks very much like an innocent civilian...its a tricky situation for the soldiers there...

For 12 years

Yes true, but he'd have to be a fanatical nut knowing that Americans or Poles come in at least platoon strength and with support close by.

Most of em are...!

Do you have a link for that? A poll or something???

Looks like the Poles,if we follow the artical,are acting no differntly to the US forces in the last 2/3 years of "active"involvement in Vietnam ,sticking in firebases and letting the local forces deal with any trouble.

They know they are leaving soon,f' all can be done for the country,so why die for it ?
I remember a few months ago there was a smart ass comment from a US commander taking over a British region, a few months later and dozens of USMC guys had died and much backtracking was done....

Polish army should abandon Afghanistan and concentrate on Kosovo

Iraqi Polish test
Balance of benefits
It is known that the Americans, and the new Iraqi government will push to the Poles to stay. Warsaw, however, wants to know - for how much? If other countries will reduce the number of its troops in the Multinational Division, the division may exist in name only. Already, more like a brigade. For this reason it is considered to include the region, which show the Poles, the British zone. This could mean problems for our troops. It is said that "too few troops to do, and too many officers who spend time on walks between the desk and the canteen." Poles who went to the Euphrates, are solidly prepared. Books in which they were instructed how to behave to show respect to the Arab culture, which in Warsaw arouse ridicule in Iraq saved many lives. The Iraqis appreciated that the Poles when searching houses, do not come with the dogs, and treat women with respect.

Iraqis do not like the Americans and British, so the inclusion of the Poles in the British zone may mean that we be treated as occupiers. Then there will be more victims. You will be also asked about the political sense of mission. Owning its own zone in Iraq raises the political importance of Polish. The NATO and EU partners have to count us as the country that has a meaningful voice in the Middle East, and this is one of the main axis of world politics. Also, in light of the government's declaration that its strategic goal of ensuring Poland's energy independence, withdrawal from the Polish zone would be a mistake.

The balance of the Iraqi operations favorably. In addition to the tragedy, we are victims among the soldiers, everything points to the sense of being in Iraq. Several thousand people involved in this operation provides a solid basis for the reform of the Polish army, so that it is a real partner for the allies, not the post-Soviet open-air museum.

Since the Polish economy is in comparison with the other, an oasis of calm, surprising that we do not use this politically and propaganda. It is certainly an asset in the talks, which will be conducted next week, foreign ministers and defense in Washington. Also during the meeting, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz of Tony Blair, a positive balance of our mission in Iraq will be one of the few strong arguments, the Polish prime minister.

The proposal is one: it is necessary and worth to be, but this should sell well. Not only for cash, although it would be a sin to disdain, but above all for political benefits. World market policies do not have too many goods to sell. One of the most valuable is the Iraqi contingent. The task of the prime minister and ministers Meller and Sikorski is to ensure that 2.5 years of hard service soldiers are not wasted. The decision whether the Polish troops in Iraq will, as announced in Baghdad, Minister Sikorski is to be made by mid-December.

Could they sell more books like that for NATO troops? If it pays off to be human even in war, then it definitely is worth it.

Very well said Nathan, i think other troops might have gotten those books also just didn't have enough respect for the Iraqis to follow what they taught. Brutality in war only brings more brutality.

erm...Penn boy,there hasnt been a "British"zone in Iraq for over 2 years.....but thats not me being blindly patriotic,the British screwed up big time in Basra,thought they could play the old Empire game of proping up one local big man in return for his support and active help in "peace"keeping,shame that bigman turned out to be an Iranian backed religious nut job...(theres a leason there for the US re Kharzi)

But,can I suggest a subtle reason for the english speaking forces (US CAN' UK etcs) occasional over reactions? How would polish forces feel if the regularly heard insurgent radio chatter speaking arabic with obvious Polish accents or finding insurgent dead with FC Poznan tatoos?

I of course know that, i was just trying to prove a point about how Polish soldiers went about their business.

I wonder how much of it was also that the European soldiers have experience of foreigners, whereas a large amount of US soldiers may never have been out of US before or intermingled with foreigners.

Young guys, in a tense situation, untrained for 'social' soldiering. I'm sure it accounted for a lot of the problems early on (which were hard to repair).

General David Petraeus, commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has issued an official statement praising Poland's military contingent in the country. His remarks come after US Army officers were quoted in Time magazine criticizing the competence and capabilities of Polish forces serving in Afghanistan.

wbj.pl/article-52591-top-us-general-praises-polish-military.html

Statement from Gen. Petraeus on Polish contributions in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (Dec 19, 2010) - I have been privileged to command coalition efforts in Iraq and, now, in Afghanistan. In each case, Polish forces were very important members of the coalition and demonstrated impressive courage, professional expertise, and commitment.

Most recently, I visited Polish forces last week in Ghazni, and as in the past, I was very impressed by the excellent work of the Polish contingent.

It is, in short, a great privilege, once again, to serve with Polish forces in a difficult, important mission. Polish forces are serving their nation, the coalition, and Afghanistan in truly admirable fashion. And all of Poland's citizens should be very proud of the enormous contributions their men and women in uniform are making in Afghanistan.

photos.state.gov/libraries/poland/788/pdfs/afganistan.pdf

Suck on that!

Condensed the article, follow the link for the full content

Petraeus is a good dude.

Wish he ran for Prez.