War crimes case leads Poland into uncharted legal, moral and political territory

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http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/28/europe/poland.php#end_main

By Nicholas Kulish Published: November 28, 2007

WARSAW: At a crucial juncture for both the newly elected government's commitment to overseas military engagements and the ongoing reform of the nation's armed forces, Poland faces its first war-crimes prosecution in memory.

Seven Polish soldiers sit in a military jail in Poznan accused of killing six Afghan civilians, including women and children, in the village of Nangar Khel in August. The investigation into whether the mortar rounds that claimed their lives were a result of bad aim, bad orders or bad intentions remains for the moment undetermined.

What is certain is that the charges against the soldiers have led the country into uncharted legal, moral and political territory. The case has become a difficult test of the public's stomach for sending their soldiers into faraway battle in support of allies.

The controversy is particularly difficult for a country with a strong attachment to its military, built up over centuries of division and domination by foreign powers. Poland is perhaps equally enamored of the view of itself as an underdog fighting on the side of right, typified by the mythic charge of Polish cavalry against Nazi tanks in World War II.