Assassination Attempt On Polish Ambassador - Blackwater Called In
This was an attempt to pressure Poland into withdrawing from Iraq.
Times Online:
Polish ambassador wounded in Iraq assassination attempt
The Polish Ambassador to Iraq was wounded and one of his security guards killed after three roadside bombs exploded by his convoy in Baghdad today.
At least three more people were wounded, including a Polish guard, in the mid-morning attack, which took place a few hundred meters from the Polish Embassy, the Iraqi Ministry of Defence said. Police sources put the injury toll at between 11 and 14 and said that one civilian passer-by also died.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the Polish Prime Minister, moved quickly to reaffirm his country’s commitment to Iraq, saying that Poland would not withdraw its 1,000-strong troop contingent despite the attack.
“Desertion is always the worst option,” Mr Kaczynski said. “This is a difficult situation, but those who became engaged and were there for years and then withdraw are making the worst possible mistake.”
General Edward Pietrzyk, the ambassador, was being treated for burns at a hospital inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.
“He is going to be fine,” said the deputy ambassador, Waldemar Figaj. A Polish security guard, believed to be Mr Pietrzyk’s driver, died at the hospital.
General Pietrzyk had been travelling down al-Arasat Street, a commercial area in central Baghdad, in a convoy of three vehicles – two GMCs and a Toyota Land Cruiser, according to an Iraqi police officer who was there at the time of the blast.
Most diplomats are forced to travel around Baghdad in such convoys for security reasons, but the added protection also raises their profile. The US security company Blackwater is at the heart of a row involving the shooting to death of 11 Iraqi civilians during a mission to transport American diplomats in a convoy across the capital following a car bomb last month.
In the latest incident, the three bombs exploded at intervals shortly after the ambassador’s convoy left his residence, the Iraqi Defence Ministry said.
The US Embassy immediately dispatched a Blackwater helicopter to help to evacuate the wounded, while American and Iraqi troops closed the area.
Blackwater helicopter dispatched to the scene
General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the American Ambassador, sent their sympathies to the Polish mission. “We strongly condemn the violent attack targeting Polish Ambassador Edward Pietrzyk’s convoy this morning in Baghdad,” they said in a joint statement.
Poland has been a key ally to the United States, contributing combat troops to the 2003 invasion and subsequently heading a division south of Baghdad. Last year, the Polish Government extended its mission in Iraq until the end of this year, leaving a decision on further extensions until then.
Mr Pietrzyk, 57, who was formerly commander of land forces in Poland, was appointed ambassador to Iraq in April.
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“Desertion is always the worst option,” Mr Kaczynski said. “This is a difficult situation, but those who became engaged and were there for years and then withdraw are making the worst possible mistake.”
I love this guy’s thinking. Think the yellow-stains in the slumber party are listening to this guy? Hell no. Those fucktards can’t even read.
And the embassy dispatched a Blackwater Helo huh? Well, now, don’t that beat all? Does Waxman know this? Or is he still questioning Blackwater’s compitence? Maybe he should question his own?
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:02 amDan, you hit the nail on the head. I wonder if Brown in Britain heard this. Seems like a swipe at him, wouldn’t you agree? Also the Spanish chickenshit leftists.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:15 pmHell yeah. Phrase it just for what it is - desertion.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:53 pmJarhead68:
You might be on to something there.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:42 pmWow. Can you imagine if they would’ve gotten this guy? I wonder what the Poles,and the MSM, would’ve done.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:59 pm“Desertion is always the worst option,”
Hmm.. I Think the brits could learn from this.. Who didn’t cut and run when Hitler was knocking. Oh yah! That’d be us.
Glad they returned the favor.
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:20 pm