Four months ago, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute - a Washington-based think tank known for neo-conservative ideas - wrote a treatise urging US financial backing for further deployments of eastern European troops in Iraq, citing Poland as a particularly attractive candidate.

"The Polish military, unlike the public, is upbeat about its service in Iraq, recognising that the mission has done wonders for the army's preparedness," the AEI scholar wrote. "Does it always make sense to hire private contractors, with all their legal and political baggage, when you could have real soldiers for less money?"