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bobdina
08-18-2009, 07:56 PM
Polish Gen. Quits Over Afghan Policy
August 18, 2009
Deutsche Presse-Agentur

WARSAW -- The commander of Poland's land forces, Gen. Waldemar Skrzypczak, announced Monday that he was tendering his resignation amid differences with the country's ministry of defense over the Polish mission in Afghanistan.

Skrzypczak made the disclosure on the internet site of the Polish army, coming after an interview he gave with the Dziennik daily newspaper in which he accused ministry officials of blocking the delivery of modern weapons to Poland's soldiers in Afghanistan.

The three-star general, who had seen action in Iraq, charged that if the Polish forces had had unmanned surveillance planes and well- armed helicopters, then a Polish army captain would not have recently been killed.

Bureaucrats who only knew war "in the cinema" were deciding about weapons procurement, Skrzypczak charged in the interview.

His reference was to an ambush of a Polish unit carried out by the Taliban a week ago. Besides the officer, four other soldiers were wounded in a several-hour battle.

Skrzypczak said that since he had lost the confidence of defense Minister Bogdan Klich, he was tendering his resignation.

In a rebuttal, Klich accused Skrzypczak of questioning the principle of civilian control over the military and said that in past briefings, the general had never complained.

A decision on Skrzypczak's resignation is now in the hands of President Lech Kaczynski. Under the Polish constitution the president is commander of the armed forces and responsible for making key appointments in the military.

Some 2,000 Polish soldiers are currently on duty in Afghanistan. Amid the financial and economic crisis hitting the country, the Warsaw government has drastically cut its military budget.

Cruelbreed
08-18-2009, 08:23 PM
Okay but if your military budget cannot afford UAV's and all this complex tech, then is it really the fault of the government? Why Quit?

Reactor-Axe-Man
08-18-2009, 11:19 PM
Okay but if your military budget cannot afford UAV's and all this complex tech, then is it really the fault of the government? Why Quit?

I have a hunch that the reasons given were but a small element of a deeper disagreement over political policies versus military necessities. His remark that the civilian leadership only knows war from the movies they watch might be a symptom of his dissatisfaction over other issues. Just a guess on my part, but aside from procurement, there could be disagreement over rules of engagement, mission responsibilities in theater, even the possibility of micromanaging Poland's contribution to the war from Warsaw instead of giving the general broad directives and allowing him the latitude to fulfill those objectives at his discretion.

No dog likes to be on a short leash. War dogs doubly so.

Cruelbreed
08-18-2009, 11:24 PM
I have a hunch that the reasons given were but a small element of a deeper disagreement over political policies versus military necessities. His remark that the civilian leadership only knows war from the movies they watch might be a symptom of his dissatisfaction over other issues. Just a guess on my part, but aside from procurement, there could be disagreement over rules of engagement, mission responsibilities in theater, even the possibility of micromanaging Poland's contribution to the war from Warsaw instead of giving the general broad directives and allowing him the latitude to fulfill those objectives at his discretion.

No dog likes to be on a short leash. War dogs doubly so.

Good points. Politics.. ahhh

nastyleg
08-19-2009, 02:57 AM
Reactor you hit the nail on the head. No general would throw away a career over budget issues.