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Poles in boro divided over troops in Iraq

By Alex Ginsberg

Polish-American residents of Maspeth and Ridgewood were divided in their reaction Friday following the arrival of 2,500 Polish troops in southern Iraq. Some applauded their home country's foray into world affairs and others called the operation rash and pointless.

“It will be very bad,” said Jan Moczydlowski, owner of a Polish travel agency on Fresh Pond Road in Maspeth, who questioned the presence of any troops in Iraq. “Iraqi people are killing our boys. They are dying for nothing. So why is it called Operation Iraqi Freedom?”

And on Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood, at the Polish and Slavic Credit Union, customers seemed wary of military action in a nation thousands of miles from both Warsaw and New York.

“We shouldn't be getting involved in that,” a man who would give his name only as Bronislaw said through a translator. “It's not our business to get involved in that.”

The Polish troops will lead a multinational contingent of soldiers from 19 countries to provide stability and reconstruction for an area of southern Iraq, according to the Polish Embassy.

“We're not a world power. We're not out for profits or oil,” Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski told departing troops last week. “All we want to do is help Iraqis build a democratic, free state.”

But he also admitted, “I know Polish public opinion is not at one on the matter,” – something that was as true in Ridgewood as it was in Krakow.

“I think it's a good idea,” said Henryk Gwadera, owner of the Okruszek Polish Bakery in Maspeth, who served in the army in Poland more than 30 years ago. He said it was exciting for his countrymen to be involved in world affairs.

“For Poland, it is the first time,” he said.

Rafal Chojnowski, a realtor who works next door to the bakery, agreed with the decision for Poland to get involved in Iraq, but was nonetheless cautious.

“I'll be glad when the army comes back,” he said.

Reach reporter Alex Ginsberg by e-mail at [email protected] or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.