Posted on 12/15/2004 11:15:24 AM PST by jb6
WARSAW, Poland - The husky man with the tiny espresso felt grumpy and unloved.
"It's like this," said Polish legislator Henryk Dzido. "America and Poland are a married couple. The husband - America - is a despot, cheating and fooling around on his Polish wife. But she still loves him. Then one day the man tells the wife she has to support herself, but, not to fear, because he will still be her husband."
Dzido's face slipped into the expression of a man who has just lost his seat on a bus.
"This is not a satisfying relationship," he said. "Poland must feel appreciated."
A populist politician, Dzido is harsher than most Poles about relations with the United States. But his sentiments mirror the resignation and bridled anger many of his countrymen feel toward Washington. Warsaw is one of America's most steadfast allies, yet the war in Iraq, where Poland has 2,400 soldiers, has convinced a growing number of Poles that the United States takes them for granted.
"Unfortunately, Poland supports the U.S. in Iraq," said Barbara Skorupinska, an economist hurrying amid the clattering tramlines in downtown Warsaw. "But unfortunately, Poland has gotten nothing out of it. We're disappointed over the way the U.S. has treated us. We feel like a fifth wheel."
Polish disenchantment is rooted in bruised pride and money. More than 70 percent of Poles opposed the Iraq war, but they believed Washington would reward them with huge oil and reconstruction contracts.
Instead, Polish companies have about $70 million in rebuilding contracts and a $13 million weapons deal with the Iraqi army.
Government officials are also negotiating a $100 million deal for Poland to modernize Iraqi tanks. These contracts and U.S. investment in Poland are far lower than what Poles expected.
"There's a lot of disappointment among ordinary Poles," Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said in a recent interview. "Poland is the most pro-American society in Europe, yet there is so much criticism" of the United States these days.
Political and financial pressures may force Warsaw to withdraw as many as 1,000 troops from Iraq early next year. Poland, which has lost 13 soldiers in Iraq, leads a shrinking multinational division of about 6,000 troops in the south.
Other countries in the contingent, such as Ukraine and Hungary, are expected to pull out as many as 1,900 troops after the Iraqi elections in January. Poles say they are crucial to the coalition but receive less attention from the United States than does Britain and Italy.
What angers Poles most, however, is a four-letter word: visa. The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw charges Poles $100 per visa application whether the document to travel to America is granted or not.
Then there's the prospect of fingerprinting and mug shots to meet new security regulations. Many Poles consider all this a bewildering slap to their dignity, especially given that millions of Americans come from Polish stock.
"We put a lot into the Iraq war," said Karol Domzala, a student at Warsaw University. "But there's still this visa embarrassment. We're one of the U.S.' best allies, but we have to line up and feel like second-class citizens. The Cold War is over, but I think America still looks at us like we're those poor people in the east."
Despite perceived slights, Poland cradles a deep affinity for the United States. It is the only "red state" in Europe. Poles favored President Bush over Sen. John F. Kerry in the last election, and, perhaps because of their strong Catholicism, they prefer a world of religion-driven moral clarity. Warsaw and Washington often gaze through the same prism, and their strategic motives, from dealing with Ukraine to fighting violent extremists, frequently overlap.
Poles are quick to remind a visitor about Casimir Pulaski, the Polish-born cavalry general who fought in the American Revolution. They will talk about their coal miner uncle in Pennsylvania, their sister and her kids in Detroit, their cousin who left decades ago for Chicago and Ronald Reagan inspiring Polish resistance to the former Soviet Union.
"We do like America," said Andrzej Pietras, a jobless military pilot, perturbed that Warsaw spends $100 million for its forces in Iraq while the nation struggles with 19 percent unemployment. "But we don't always get that feeling back."
Poland's new membership in the European Union comes as France and Germany seek to limit the Bush administration's influence on the continent. This has been diplomatically challenging for Poland. Much of Europe is suspicious of Warsaw's ties to the United States and emphasizes to Poland that it cannot escape its geography. But, so far, Poles have been comfortable looking beyond Paris and Berlin to Washington.
"There will be a quite serious debate about U.S. relations after next year's Polish elections over whether Poland should stay close to the U.S. or drift more toward the European Union," said Edmund Wnuk-Lipinski, a political analyst. "Relations with Washington will be more clearly defined. There's a growing pragmatism on the Polish side."
Tadeusz Iwinski, deputy head of Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, said, "We are a rather romantic nation. But I think this is a test period for America and Poland. There could be disenchantment if things are not improved."
Henryk Dzido's thick hands made his espresso cup seem the size of a thimble. He smiled at the notion of disenchantment. Almost chuckled at it. But he was angry and confused and, as snow whirled outside, he dispensed with political parables and romantic analogies and settled into the bluntness that suits him best.
"I don't get America's logic. I just don't understand it," he said. "The U.S. is taking advantage of Poland's age-old sympathy for it. The question is becoming: How will the U.S. be perceived in Poland when this war is over?"
"This is not a satisfying relationship," he said. "Poland must feel appreciated."
I’m not entirely sure, but I think he’s asking the US to #*!* him.
Dude, try rubbing us a little. And wear something other than the heavy winter overcoat.
HAHAHA!!!
This is an LA Times article, reprinted by the Manchester Union. Knowing the source, it ain't worthy of wiping my butt with, much less wrapping a fish.
That’s the sort of thinking Bush has allowed to continue for FAR too long.
A lot of countries seem to think we’re in a relationship of equals. That is NOT true. Our relationship is a parent/child relationship and they need to learn their proper place in it.
It's not a good idea to drink heavily if you're intending to post on the internet.
"The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw charges Poles $100 per visa application whether the document to travel to America is granted or not. "
Not to mention having to travel from the corners of Poland to Warsaw, to stand in line all night in below freezing temperatures, just to apply for the visa!
I don't blame the Poles for their anger. They have been screwed by the West enough times in their history.
What an asinine thing to say about our true and good friends, the Poles! Didn't your momma ever teach you any manners?
Smart. Let's trash ONE OF OUR ONLY allies.
You're nuts if you think this is some kinda "parent-child" relationship. Poland doesn't owe the US squat. If anything, the US owes Poland for lending them such strong leaders like Generals Kosciuszko and Pulaski who fought for American independence during the American Revolution.
And Britain owes Poland plenty for the many Polish RAF pilots that helped during the Battle of Britain. And what was their reward...Yalta.
Bush doesn't want to give Poles visas, cuz they might take away jobs from all the Mexican illegals who snuck across the border. Even worse, they might be better workers.
Good logic!
I'm all for rewarding the Poles. They have shown they are our true friends, and we need to do the same for them.
I think that these countries need to stop looking for financial handouts that they ridiculously label as “signs of respect.”
We are engaged in a war to save western civilization from the fundamentalist Islamic wackos who are hell-bent on destroying everything it stands for. Australia, the UK, Poland, Italy, etc. need to recognize that and fight willingly and bravely by our side in this noble and inevitable battle.
If they’re just signing up for the handouts, we don’t really need them. We’ll save the world by ourselves. They can cower down beside France and watch.
That said, I don’t think this article accurately reflects the dominant viewpoint of the Polish people. It’s just standard pot-stirring from the liberal US media.
"We are engaged in a war to save western civilization from the fundamentalist Islamic wackos who are hell-bent on destroying everything it stands for. Australia, the UK, Poland, Italy, etc. need to recognize that and fight willingly and bravely by our side in this noble and inevitable battle."
"If they’re just signing up for the handouts, we don’t really need them."
I would agree with your remarks. But what's missing from our foreign policy is a simple connection between rewarding those who support us versus shunning those who abuse us. It seems to me that countries like Germany, France, Russia, China, et.al., even Mexco and Canuckistan, get all sorts of attention and special considerations when it comes to economic and defense matters, when all they do is take big sh*ts on the US at every opportunity. Why not support those countries that support us? It just makes sense.
You're judging a people you know nothing about.
If you reread the article, you can see that the issue is mainly about the visas. You might have an argument if Poland got the visa requirement removed and they were still complaining, but that's not the case. Poland hasn't even been given that.
Secondly, Iraq is hardly a war to save western civilzation. Gimme a break!
France and Germany have no visa requirement, but Poland does. This is the issue!
b,
And let's never forget Jan Sobieski and his hussars:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna
If 70% of the people were against the Iraq CAMPAIGN (not war, which includes Afghanistan among other places), then Poland is at heart just another France.
But I'm skeptical about that 70%, and that they're that upset over visas. Maybe over oil contracts, but it may also be that Allawi & Co. are now calling the shots on that and US doesn't have as much say as before.
"Secondly, Iraq is hardly a war to save western civilzation. Gimme a break!"
***
Then what IS it about?
Great point!
Europe might be an Islamic continent if it wasn't for Poland at the Battle of Vienna.
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