WARSAW (AFP) – In a first sign of official criticism in Poland of the US-led invasion of Iraq, President Aleksander Kwasniewski said that his country had been “taken for a ride” about the alleged existence of weapons of mass destruction in the strife-torn country.
“That they deceived us about the weapons of mass destruction, that’s true. We were taken for a ride,” Kwasniewski said Thursday.
“The war may have been a mistake. Perhaps there were ways it could have been avoided,” said European Affairs Minister Rocco Buttiglione in an interview published Thursday by the daily newspaper Il Messaggero.
“What is certain is that it wasn’t the best thing to do,” he added.
“Terrorism cannot be defeated only by the force of arms, and if we give the impression that weapons play the dominant role, we will only stir up nationalist feelings among the Arabs against us,” he added.
The statement, the first apparent crack in the unity of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Iraq, came two days before the first anniversary of the US-led invasion, which Berlusconi has strongly backed.
And, of course, there’s Zapatero. Dump Bush.