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A joint Ukrainian-Polish-British tactical exercise began on Tuesday at the Nova Demba military training grounds in Poland, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. The Cossack Steppe 2008 exercise is part of the NATO Partnership for Peace Program and has been conducted in succession on the territories of the three countries since 1997.

[translated from Polish]The assembly of a gigantic monument of Christ the King has just begun on the outskirts of Swiebodzin, Poland. Situated on the small hill several miles east of the German-Polish border, the statue is erected not only as a fruit of faith of the local people but also as a towering symbol of welcome to Catholic Poland, perfectly seen from both A-2 Highway and S3 Fastway. Almost 100-foot-tall statue of Christ the King will be 4 feet higher than a famous statue of Christ the Redeemer, which is overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Designed by a priest Sylvester Zawadzki...

Citing the “increased threat from a traditional enemy,” Syrian President Bashar Assad is beseeching Moscow for new weapons to defend his country. The “increased threat” supposedly comes from the recent Polish-US agreement to install anti-missile defenses in Poland. With most observers having difficulty comprehending the connection, Assad explained his reasoning. “The threat to our country from Poland goes back six decades,” Assad asserted. “They had an opportunity to finish off their Jews. Instead, after the war, they allowed them to escape to Israel. Israel now poses a constant irritation to us. We are seeking Russian aid to help us eradicate...

Russia may use Poland's energy needs as leverage Missile deal could interrupt oil and gas link Gabriela Baczynska and Pawel Bernat, Reuters Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Poland must brace for possible trouble with Russian gas and oil supplies after Warsaw angered Moscow by agreeing to host parts of a global U.S. defence missile shield, analysts say. A deliberate interruption in supplies may not be in the cards but Poland is likely to have a hard time renegotiating long-term contracts and convincing Russia to keep using it as a transit country. Russia, which supplies 95 per cent of Poland's oil...

Poland's Sikorski: Russia would lose confrontation with West (Roundup) Europe News Aug 27, 2008, 13:03 GMT Warsaw - Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said in an interview Wednesday he would prefer Russia to work with the West and that Moscow would lose again if it came to confrontation. 'As Europe, we're 10 times richer than Russia and along with the United States 20 times,' Sikorski told the daily Dziennik. 'I'd prefer if Russia worked together and integrated itself with the wider-known West, but if it comes to confrontation, then it will lose again.' Sikorski's comments came a day after Russian...

100 GIs to man Patriot missile battery in Poland By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Wednesday, August 27, 2008 ARLINGTON, Va. — About 100 U.S. soldiers are expected to man a Patriot missile battery in Poland as part of an agreement recently struck between U.S. and Polish officials, a top State Department official said Monday. Under the agreement, the United States can base part of its missile defense system in Poland; in return, the U.S. military will send Patriot missiles to Poland. Both sides hope to establish a garrison for the battery by 2012, said John C. Rood,...

Russia threatens military response to US missiles MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is warning his country may respond to a U.S. missile shield in Europe through military means. Medvedev says that the deployment of an anti-missile system close to Russian borders "will of course create additional tensions." "We will have to react somehow, to react, of course, in a military way," Medvedev was quoted as saying Tuesday by the RIA-Novosti news agency. Russian officials have already warned of a military response to the U.S. plans, but the statement by the Russian leader was likely to further aggravate already...

Poland is to open job market to workers from Moldova, Georgia 26.08.2008 Poland's labor ministry plans to open the country's labor market to citizens of more non-EU countries, including the citizens of Georgia and Moldova. According to the ministry's estimations, the first workers from these countries could arrive to Poland as early as next spring. Danuta Isler reports It was back in February that the Polish Ministry of Labor and Social Policy introduced new regulations allowing the citizens of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia to work in Poland for up to six months. Now the ministry is working on opening of...

'Drink Georgian wines, don't be afraid of Putin!' 26.08.2008 Drink Georgian wines, don't be afraid of Putin! This is the slogan of the "Solidarity with Georgia" initiative, which organized a happening in Warsaw. Co-organizer of the event, journalist Piotr Lisiewicz has said that Poles should buy Georgian products to support that country's economy. Lisiewicz stresses, that Vladimir Putin introduced an embargo on Georgian wines in 2005. Wine and mineral water are main export products of Georgia. In 2005 Russia imposed an embargo on both. Earlier it had been the largest importer of those products.

Polish Commentary Analyzes Russia's Relations With West Posted on: Monday, 25 August 2008, 06:00 CDT Text of report by Polish newspaper Polityka on 23 August [Commentary by Marek Ostrowski: "What about Russia?" - the article incorporates a box with commentary by "W.S": "Shield Still Uncertain"] The interests of global powers - Russia, the United States and the EU - are bound up with the issue of Georgia, a small yet strategically located country. This conflict has yet again intensified Poland's fear of Russia, a feeling that runs in our blood. Do we have reason to fear? History likes to repeat...

Eastern Europe Can Defend Itself By MAX BOOT August 25, 2008; Page A13 Eastern Europeans are rightly alarmed about the brazenness and success of the Russian blitzkrieg into Georgia. For many living in Russia's shadow, this is reviving traumatic memories -- of 1968 for Czechs, 1956 for Hungarians, 1939 for Poles. It does not help that senior Russian generals are threatening to rain nuclear annihilation on Ukraine and Poland if they refuse to toe the Kremlin's line. Even those states which, unlike Georgia and Ukraine, are already in NATO can take scant comfort. As Poland's foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, says,...

U.S. to give Poland five C-130 Hercules planes 2008-08-26 00:06:58 WARSAW, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Poland will get from the United States five 40-year-old C-130 Hercules transport planes as part of allied assistance, Rzeczpospolita daily reported on Monday. The first one is expected in Poland in October and the last one in 2012. 50 Polish pilots and technicians are being trained in the U.S. to service the planes. According to the newspaper, the planes will be used for soldier and equipment transport for military missions. At present the Polish Air Forces use Spanish CASA C-295M which are not fit for...

Katyn “deserved revenge”? Created: 25.08.2008 15:09 “Stalin was an efficient leader, not a murderer. The killing of Polish officers in Katyn was a well-deserved revenge,“ will be the new official historical theory taught in Russian schools. Before the opening of the new school year, the Russian Academy of Qualification Improvement and Professional Retraining of Education Employees has released guidelines for teachers regarding the history syllabus in schools. From now on, Russian pupils will be informed that some 22,000 Polish officers were indeed killed by the NKVD in Katyn in 1940, but the act was fully justified and “politically suitable”, reports...

Swedish power metal band singing praises of Polish soldiers 22.08.2008 A song recorded by a power metal band from Sweden tells the story of a heroic stand by Polish soldiers in World War II. Presented by Elzbieta Krajewska "Baptised in fire, 40 to 1 Spirit of Spartans Death and glory; Soldiers of Poland Second to none" goes the song by the Swedish power metal band Sabaton. They tell the story of the Battle of Wizna, when over four days of September 1939, 720 Polish soldiers under the command of Władysław Raginis held off an attack by more than 42 thousand...

WASHINGTON — U.S. outrage over Russia's invasion of Georgia could prompt Congress to speed up plans for a missile defense system in eastern Europe. As missile defense proponents push congressional Democrats to drop funding restrictions, however, they appear to be bolstering an argument made repeatedly by Moscow and rejected by Washington: that the true target of the system is Russia. But Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., one of the authors of the restrictions, said Democrats will not bend on testing. "The events in Georgia have nothing to do with the interceptors the U.S. is considering deploying in Poland, and Congress believes...

Mr. Putin’s mistake By VANYA EFTIMOVA BELLINGER - Guest Columnist I might be biased. My husband was one of the first American soldiers deployed to train the Georgian troops in 2006. We pray for our friends stuck in that tiny country — both Georgians and Americans. I am Bulgarian by birth, an Eastern European — a member of a group of countries and societies known as very sensible when it comes to the Russia of the past of the Soviet bloc. Reading the news about the violence in Caucasus, the average Westerner might be surprised and confused about how the...

Polska osada na tureckiej ziemi Saturday, August 23, 2008 'Our situation is extraordinary,' used to describe the position of Polish residents of Polonezköy Zofia Ryzy, who lived there all her life, 'Poland is our motherland, but Adampol on the Bosporus is like Poland with all its traditions on the Turkish soil' Marzena Romanowska ISTANBUL – Turkish Daily News The asphalt road leading to Polonezköy, or Adampol, as residents call it, was constructed only 10 years ago. Nowadays, especially in spring and fall, hundreds of vehicles use it to get to this peaceful oasis in the outskirts of Istanbul. People escaping...

http://www.russiatoday.com/guests/video/1484

Text of US-Polish anti-missile agreement published Created: 22.08.2008 09:07 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published on its web site the unabridged text of the agreement on the deployment of the antimissile shield between the US and Poland signed yesterday by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. According to the agreement, the antimissile shield is to be an answer to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means for their delivery, including ballistic missiles. Washington and Warsaw stress that the agreement was signed in compliance with international law and previous agreements between the two...

Georgian President grateful for Poland’s help Created: 22.08.2008 12:20 President Saakashvili of Georgia expressed gratitude on Polish Radio this morning to President Lech Kaczynski and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski for their visit to Tbilisi during the war with Russia. President Mikhail Saakashvili told Polish Radio and other Western media in an eight minute interview on Friday that President Kaczynski and FM Sikorski’s Georgian visit after the outbreak of military action in South Ossetia, “was an act of great courage” on their part and he was grateful for that. "These people took a great risk,” said Saakashvili and explained that their...

WARSAW (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski celebrated the signing of a missile shield deal this week with Georgian wine, a choice sure to leave a bitter taste for Russia. Moscow, embroiled in a row with the West over its military incursion into the tiny ex-Soviet republic of Georgia, is fiercely opposed to the missile shield, saying it poses a direct threat to its own security. Poland says the choice of Georgian 2005 Kakhetian Royal wine to complement Polish pike-perch at a dinner hosted by Sikorski was not meant as a slight...

NATO warships, which passed through Istanbul's Bosporus Strait Thursday, entered the Black Sea for long-planned exercises and routine visits to ports in Romania and Bulgaria, the alliance said. A U.S. Navy warship entered Turkey's Dardanel Strait on Friday taking relief supplies to Georgia. Three warships - from Spain, Germany and Poland - sailed into the Black Sea on Thursday. The move is not linked to the tensions over Russia's invasion of Georgia, which lies on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, about 900 kilometers (550 miles) from the Romanian coast, said officials at NATO's military command in southern Belgium....

The most grotesque aspect of Russia’s aggression in Georgia is the repeated Russian claim that Georgia poses a threat to Russia and its citizens. In language harking back to the Orwellian rhetoric of the Cold War, all Russian troops are “peacekeepers” and all Georgian forces are “diversionaries” and “terrorists.” Russian troops are now openly occupying Georgian territory on the grounds that law and order in Georgia has collapsed. Of course it has. Russian tanks and airplanes crushed it underfoot. Moscow bemoans the absence of “legitimate political leadership” in Georgian territories like Gori even as its troops occupy Gori without the...

US senators urge Poland to ratify missile shield Posted : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:50:13 GMT Author : DPA Warsaw - Two top supporters of US presidential hopeful John McCain on Thursday urged Poland to "quickly" ratify a deal to station part of a Pentagon anti-missile shield, and condemned Russian "belligerence" in the wake of its invasion of Georgia. "We cannot allow ourselves to be bullied by the Russians out of ratifying this agreement," said US Senator Joe Lieberman, whose name has been mentioned among the possible vice presidential candidates for the Republican Party. Lieberman and Senator Lindsey Graham stopped...

Poland, Ukraine and the Baltics Nervous neighbours Aug 21st 2008 | MOSCOW AND WARSAW NOBODY has watched the war in Georgia more anxiously than Russia’s western neighbours. Recently the Russians have been bellicose towards Ukraine, the three Baltic states and Poland. It was no surprise when leaders from the other four flew with the Polish president to Tbilisi to express solidarity with Georgia’s Mikheil Saakashvili. It was also no coincidence that Poland signed a deal with the Americans to host missile-defence interceptors. The deal marks the end of a game of hardball, with the Poles turning down many American offers...

Three suspects caught in Afghanistan bombing that killed Polish soldiers- Defense Ministry WARSAW. AUGUST 21. INTERFAX CENTRAL EUROPE Three persons suspected of committing a roadside bomb attack that claimed the lives of three Polish soldiers and wounded another in Afghanistan Wednesday have been detained, Polish Minister of Defense Bogdan Klich said Thursday. "Three men suspected of the Wednesday attack on the Polish soldiers were detained in Afghanistan," Klich said. "One of them is the possible direct perpetrator." The incident took place at approximately 13:30 CE, approximately 90 minutes after a Polish-American agreement to host elements of an American missile shield...

This is what Nato is for Last Updated: 12:01am BST 21/08/2008 There can be legitimate doubts about the effectiveness of the planned American missile shield in Eastern Europe in thwarting attacks from Iran, North Korea or al-Qaeda. But it is absurd to pretend that the 10 interceptor rockets and the X-band radar to be installed in Poland and the Czech Republic between 2011 and 2013 pose a danger to Russia. This is a country with an estimated 7,200 nuclear warheads which has recently embarked on a $189billion programme to enhance its military capabilities, from intercontinental missiles to nuclear submarines and...

Polish TV to say goodbye to the famed lektor? 21.08.2008 The Ministries of National Education, Culture, and Science and Higher Education want to introduce subtitling on Polish television instead of the famed lektor: an actor who voices scripts over the top of an original soundtrack. During a debate at the “Dziennik” daily headquarters, Ministers Barbara Kudrycka and Katarzyna Hall said that subtitling, especially of English programming aired in Poland, would increase English proficiency in the country. Merely one third of Poles have a knowledge of English, making Poland linguistically inferior in comparison to other countries in the European Union. Minister...

Headline at http://www.marketwatch.com/ Crude tops $121 to close at a more than two-week high; natural gas gains SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures climbed above $121 a barrel Thursday to close at a more than two-week high, as the dollar fell against other major currencies and as tensions between the U.S. and Russia worsened.

Remains of Polish soldiers found in Belarus 21.08.2008 The remains of Polish soldiers who fought the Nazis and were killed by the Soviets in September 1939, have been found in Kobryn, Belarus. After the Nazi invasion of Poland at the beginning of September, Kobryn was an important outpost for Polish defences in its eastern territories. On the 17th and 18th September 1939, Polish forces fought against the Nazi invaders, only to take up arms against the Soviet aggressor soon after. Andrzej Przewoźnik, secretary of the Rada Ochrona Pamięci Walk i Męczeństwa, a council protecting the memory of Poland’s fallen troops,...

US no longer a dreamland for Poles 21.08.2008 Poles, who used to love the United States for many decades, seem to have cooled off these days. Once a promised land, America is losing its attraction in confrontation with the European Union. Krystyna Kolosowska reports Recent years have seen popularity ratings of the United States among Poles plunge by over twenty percentage points. The change was observed already in 2007. A survey conducted by CBOS, one of the biggest public opinion research centers here, revealed that the rate of positive opinions about the US fell to 38 percent, compared with 62...

Polish troops have to adjust tactics in Afghanistan Created: 21.08.2008 16:33 Minister of Defence Bogdan Klich said today that Polish troops in Afghanistan have to adjust their tactics after three Polish soldiers were killed in Afghanistan yesterday. Klich stressed during a teleconference with the commanders of the Polish contingent at the Operational Command of the Armed Forces that the situation in Afghanistan has worsened and the country has destabilized, especially in the east and south. The minister said that the new tactics of the Polish soldiers should include full control of the main communication routes, such as the Kabul-Kandahar road....

Text of US-Polish declaration By The Associated Press 2008-08-21 03:01 AM Text of the "Declaration on Strategic Cooperation Between the United States of America and the Republic of Poland" agreed by the two countries alongside a deal to place a U.S. missile defense base in Poland. The text was provided to the media by the U.S. State Department. "In Warsaw on August 20, 2008, the Secretary of State and the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Poland agreed to issue the following Declaration: The United States of America (the United States) and the Republic of Poland (Poland) share...

Poland: once bitten, twice shy Poles have suddenly changed their minds about the US missile shield. Georgia has reawakened their fear of Russian aggression Kamil Tchorek Surveys show Polish public opinion has rapidly shifted from wariness about hosting the US missile shield to outright enthusiasm. The reason is simple. Russia conducted a devastating counterattack against Georgia this month, and Poles are convinced the time for treading softly around the Russian bear has passed. Every Polish family has a compelling story about its role in history: stories of war, rebellion and defiance. By comparison to the average Brit, the average Pole...

A deal on missile defences angers Russia even though they may not work THE east Europeans have little reason to fear a strike from Iran. So why are they eagerly signing up to America’s system to intercept Iranian missiles? Because they are scared of Russia. Within days of Russia’s invasion of Georgia, Poland had agreed to host ten American interceptors. Ukraine offered to link up its early-warning radars and contribute to surveillance in space. The Czech Republic had already agreed to host the missile-tracking radar. “We have crossed the Rubicon,” said the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, as the deal...

Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Russia on Thursday for a two-day visit during which he is seeking to purchase advanced weaponry from Moscow including the Pantsyr-S1 Air Defense Missile system, the BUK-M1 surface-to-air medium-range missile system and the sophisticated S-300 long range anti-aircraft missile system already purchased by Iran. Syria has also reportedly offered to allow Moscow to deploy its Russian Iskander missile system, an advanced short-range, solid fuel-propelled missile, in its territory. The new Russo-Syrian military cooperation comes in reaction to the recent US-Poland missile deal which positions NATO missile systems on Russia’s western front, eliciting harsh threats...

Russia's envoy to NATO said yesterday that Russia will behave in a pragmatic manner following the alliance's decision to freeze regular contact with Moscow. Under US pressure, NATO agreed Tuesday to freeze contact with Russia until Moscow had withdrawn its troops from Georgia in line with a peace deal. "We will carefully analyze this situation," the envoy, Dmitry Rogozin, said. "There won't be any aggressive action from anyone on our side. We will behave in a pragmatic manner. . . . There will definitely not be a Cold War."

What lies behind Moscow's willingness to crush Georgia with overwhelming force? Analysts have highlighted Russia's newfound economic confidence, its determination to undo its humiliation of the 1990s, and its grievances over Kosovo, U.S. missile-defense plans involving Poland and the Czech Republic, and the eastward expansion of NATO. But there may be another major, overlooked element: Has a shift in the nuclear balance between the U.S. and Russia helped embolden the bear? Under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which went into force in 1994, both the U.S. and the USSR made radical cuts in their strategic nuclear arsenals -- that...

Russia says its response to the further development of a U.S. missile shield in Poland will go beyond diplomacy.

Mine kills three Polish soldiers in Afghanistan 21 August 2008 | 00:09 | FOCUS News Agency Warsaw. An exploding mine killed three Polish soldiers in Afghanistan Wednesday, seriously injuring a fourth member of their patrol, the Polish army told PAP news agency. The blast happened about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from their Ghazni base in central Afghanistan, Major Jacek Poplawski told the agency. The wounded soldier, part of a 1,200-strong Polish contingent attached to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), was transported by helicopter to another base at Bagram, he added. Polish troop numbers in Afghanistan are due to rise...

Text of report in English by Polish national independent news agency PAP Warsaw, 20 August: I am very glad that irrespective of all ups and downs we have a good agreement, President Lech Kaczynski said on Wednesday after Poland and the USA signed a deal on placing 10 missile interceptors in Poland. The president stressed that the Polish-US deal was the implementation of one of the strategic goals of his presidency. He stressed the deal was reached thanks to the two governments and one presidency.

US State Secretary Praises Poland As Defender of Freedom Posted on: Wednesday, 20 August 2008, 09:00 CDT Text of report in English by Polish national independent news agency PAP Warsaw, 20 August: Poland has always been defending freedom, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday after she and Polish Foreign Minister signed a deal on placing ten missile interceptors in Poland. Let me express my thanks for the reception of our delegation in Warsaw which is a unique city, a symbol that freedom can be negated for a moment but not for ever, Rice stressed. Poland has always been...

U.S. obliged to provide security for Poland under missile shield deal - Polish PM Donald Tusk WARSAW. AUGUST 20. INTERFAX CENTRAL EUROPE - The United States is obliged to provide security for Poland, as well as for any American facilities in Poland, according to a now signed agreement to place elements of a U.S. missile shield on Polish soil, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, following the signing of the agreement Wednesday morning in Warsaw. "The U.S. is obliged to provide security to Poland and any American facilities on its territory," Tusk said. "Poland and the U.S. will act together...

SHOWDOWN: RUSSIA VOWS SHIELD RESPONSE BEYOND DIPLOMACY Breaking news - just headline.

A few days ago, Ukraine offered a Soviet-built facility as a base for Western missile defense. Today, Poland and the U.S. have signed a missile defense deal. Someone is standing up to the bully. The people who have the most to lose (the little kids whose lunch money the bully wants) and their only real defenders (conservatives in the U.S. and the West) are joining forces to oppose them.Meanwhile, NATO is proving that it may be a spent force—owing to the fact that most of its members are the now-useless countries of Western Europe. It's tepid response to the Georgia...

<p>WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal Wednesday to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, an agreement that prompted an infuriated Russia to warn of a possible attack against the former Soviet satellite.</p>

US and Poland sign missile deal in Warsaw Nico Hines Condoleezza Rice today signed an historic and highly controversial deal to build a US missile base in Poland. The US Secretary of State signed the agreement to a build a missile defence shield in the former Soviet satellite state in exchange for greater American military support for Poland. “The negotiations were very tough but friendly,” Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister, told Dr Rice at the signature ceremony. “We have achieved our main goals, which means that our country and the United States will be more secure,” he said. Moscow...

Poland won't be intimidated over US missiles: president WARSAW (AFP) — In a clear swipe at Russia, Poland's President Lech Kaczynski on Tuesday said his country would not give in to threats over its deal with Washington to deploy US missile silos on Polish soil. "No-one can dictate to Poland what it should do. That's in the past," Kaczynski said in a live prime-time television address ahead of Wednesday's signing of the accord with the United States. "Our neighbours should now understand that our nation will never give in, nor allow itself to be intimidated," Kaczynski said, in the wake...

Poland to offer asylum, money to Iraqis August 19, 2008 - 3:27pm WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's prime minister says his country will offer asylum or a $40,000 payment to any Iraqi working for its military or police in Iraq. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his government on Tuesday approved the plan. Poland has decided to withdraw its troops from Iraq this October. There is a fear that Iraqis who worked for the U.S. allies could become the target of attacks. Tusk said that the plan covers Iraqi translators and other workers. He did not say how many people the...

Ships from Canada, US, Poland to Enter Black Sea Waters: Deputy Chief of Russian General Staff 19.08.08 16:39 Russia, Moscow, 19 August/ TrendNews, corr R. Agayev/ The ships from Canada, US and Poland are expected to enter the Black Sea waters by the end of August to carry out a peacekeeping mission, Noqovitsin, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff said to in a briefing in Moscow. At the night of 8 August, large-scale military operations were launched in the self-declared South Ossetia republic. The Georgian troops entered Tskhinvali. Later the Russian troops entered the city and drove the Georgian...