Posted on 02/09/2006 10:00:04 AM PST by lizol
Poland to become the stronghold of US-led policies in Europe
09.02.2006 Source:
Has the USA simply found a supporter in Europe or has Poland lost its notorious pride?
This week Polish President Lech Kaczynski makes his first official visit to the United States as a head of state. He gave an interview to journalists last Friday and from this it is possible to deduce that Poland aspires to the role of being America’s main ally in Europe.
Furthermore, Lech Kaczynski has given his transatlantic ally a "present" by promising that he wouldl leave a contingent of Polish troops in Iraq until 2007. Former President Aleksander Kwasniewski has promised that he would withdraw 1500 soldiers by the start of this year but the situation now appears somewhat different.
The Polish President also said that his country did not have any secret thoughts when they took the decision to participate in the invasion and occupation of Iraq. If we are to believe what Kaczynski says, then Warsaw had only one objective and that was to remove Saddam Hussein from power and they had not considered the potential advantages when taking the decision. It would be fair to say that the Polish President understands that his country is counting on the fact that in the end the Americans will realize the true value of Poland’s continued support. Warsaw expects greater collaboration in military circles and in commerce. The President of the USA had foreseen this desire. On Monday George Bush announced that in 2007 as part of reforms of defense Poland will be given $30 million from the American budget. The sum is not too large but all the same it is significant.
The newspaper Washington Post has not failed to notice that 52% of Poles support the stance to the current American Administration. This is the highest level of support in Europe. It’s even higher than in the USA. It is worth treating these figures with a certain degree of skepticism since the poll was carried out last July.
However, Poland, judging by the current mood of the country’s leadership, intends as before to be a bastion of US-led politics in Europe. In Warsaw they think that their position in terms of their influence on European matters is more long-term. Firstly, as regards Central and Eastern Europe, Poland’s role in events in Ukraine at the time of the so-called “Orange Revolution” is well known. This took place during former President Aleksander Kwasniewski’s time in power. Now in a time when Poland is trying to become more democratic the people welcome his successor.
No great improvement in relations between Poland and Russia is envisaged in the near future. They have been poor and they will remain that way. Lech Kaczynski has already said more than once that he will not go to Moscow until the Russian President has paid a visit to Warsaw. The Russian leader is hardly going to be prepared to fulfill the wish of the politician who called Russia “Poland’s most evil enemy” during his election campaign.
It's rather small minded to post from a communist propaganda magazine and then complain that it's lying.
the only thing that could possibly be a lie is that the polititian actually said that. It is no lie that the history of Russian/Soviet abuses against the people of Poland is long and terrible.
You mean this wasn't in the NY Times?
It's curious how often Lizol, a Pole, not living in America but living in Poland, posts from pravda, the self described communist journal.
Isn't Poland pulling out about 1/2 of their troops from Iraq?
"If we are to believe what Kaczynski says, then Warsaw had only one objective and that was to remove Saddam Hussein from power and they had not considered the potential advantages when taking the decision. "
Only in comic books would this be true. Any leader who goes to war in partnership with a larger power against a country that is no credible threat to Poland and DOESN'T take things like this into account is grossly negligent.
I would bet improving economic and military ties with the US was the primary motive and I see nothing wrong with that. In fact, given their history the last century and the increasing authoritarian attitude of the kremlin, is anyone surprised? For trade and stable relations with russia the EU would sell Poland down the river in a heartbeat.
I guess my info is about a month old. May have something to do with the proposed budget.
Well, they used to say there is no truth in Pravda and no news in Izvestia.
It's true that Pravda (which means "Truth" in Russian) is notoriously anti-american and unreliable. But its also true that Poland has been and remains a strong US ally. I suspect our cooperation and ties will increase in the future and they may be a future economic powerhouse, a la Germany.
The same applies to Romainia. A year ago I was sitting in a pub (The Swan) in London and met 2 guys... one a Scot, the other Romainian. The Scot employed the Romanian installing windows in contruction projects. I chatted with the Scot for awhile, then turned my attention to the Romainian, who had been very quiet. I explained who I was and that I was from the USA. The first thing out of his mouth in very broken english was "Ronald Reagan!" No lie. Apparently they love the Gipper in Romainia and I have been told that many Poles feel the same way. They are very happy to be out from under the jackboot of Communism.
Just thought I'd share that.
Unreliable? They are reliably fruity communist nuts:
From their about page:
The chain was broken after the well-known order signed by the then-Russian president on Aug. 22, 1991. The recently destroyed Communist Party and its team of journalists did not struggle for their newspaper or for its history. Instead, they registered a new paper with the same title shortly thereafter.
The managers of the new newspaper could not resist the temptations of the new era and the new economy: Then editor-in-chief (and current Speaker of the Russian Parliament) Gennady Seleznyov left the paper to Greek swindlers who claimed to be Communists.
The next editor-in-chief, Alexander Ilyin, handed Pravda's trademark - the Soviet medals of the Communist newspaper that had the authorities had somehow let stand - and the registration certificate that had been issued in August of 1991 over to the new Greek owners, the Yannikoses.
At that time, a very serious split occurred in the editorial office. Over 90 percent of the journalists who had been working for Pravda until the coup d'etat of 1991 quit their jobs. They established their own version of the newspaper, which was then closed under government pressure.
These journalists had to take their fight to cyberspace, and the Internet newspaper PRAVDA On-Line was launched in January of 1999, the first Russian newspaper of its kind. We think that both the newly registered newspaper and PRAVDA On-Line (you are now on its server) have an equal moral right to continue the history of the newspaper that was closed by then-President Boris Yeltsin in August of 1991. The number of journalists that work in the head offices of both publications is comparable with the number of journalists who worked for Pravda at the time it was closed.
In spite of the fact that the journalists of both these publications are still in touch with each other, we have different conceptions about news about Russia and the world. The newspaper Pravda analyzes events from the point of view of the Party's interests, whereas PRAVDA On-line takes a pro-Russian approach to forming its policy.
Wouldn't you agree that this gives more diversity to the world?
I doubt the publishers felt it was true either.
Though it begs the question why a foreign citizen is on FR posting from the communist daily of the former soviet union.
That's exactly what I meant.
He's never said so.
Troops start leaving Iraq
09/02/2006 13:00 - (SA)
A US soldier kisses his wife goodbye before being deployed to Iraq. (AP)
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Vienna - The Ukrainians are long gone. So are the Norwegians. The Italians and South Koreans are getting ready to leave, and the Britons and Japanese could begin packing their bags later this year.
Slowly but steadily, United States allies in Iraq are drawing down or pulling out as Iraqi forces take more responsibility for securing the country. By year's end, officials say, the coalition - now 25 nations supporting a dwindling US contingent of 138 000 - may shrink noticeably.
The continuing withdrawals and reductions will test the Iraqis' ability to tamp down attacks and rebuild, said Anthony Cordesman of the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, warning in a new report: "It is too soon to predict the extent to which Iraqi forces can eventually replace coalition forces."
Brits are the biggest ally
Britain, with about 8 000 troops in Iraq, is the United States' most important coalition ally. Officials repeatedly have said they hope to begin bringing home some of those troops later this year, though Defence Secretary John Reid has played down recent reports that Britain has settled on a timetable for withdrawal.
"We are going to hand over to the Iraqi security forces ... whenever they are ready to defend their own democracy. We are there as long as we are needed and no longer," Reid told The Associated Press in a recent interview in London, stressing that any withdrawal would be done in stages.
On Tuesday, however, he also made clear that "if things in Iraq continue to progress as they are, there will be significantly fewer British forces there by next year."
Poland's new president, Lech Kaczynski, told the AP his country might keep its scaled-down contingent of 900 troops in Iraq into 2007.
But other countries have abandoned the coalition, shrinking the overall size of the force to 157 500, including the roughly 138 000 US troops. The Pentagon says the American contingent itself has been cut to its lowest level since last summer, when a build-up for election security expanded the US force to about 160 000.
Force peaked at 300 000
In the months after the March 2003 invasion, the multinational force peaked at about 300 000 soldiers from 38 nations - 250 000 from the United States, about 40 000 from Britain, and the rest ranging from 2 000 Australians to 70 Albanians.
Among the larger contributors to pull out of Iraq was Ukraine, which withdrew its last contingent of 876 troops in December.
Bulgaria also brought home its 380 infantry troops, and though it plans to send in 120 soldiers by mid-March to help guard a refugee camp north of Baghdad, those will be non-combat forces with limited rules of engagement.
Key coalition members such as South Korea and Italy - the United States' No 2 and 3 partners in Iraq after Britain - will begin drawing down later this spring.
South Korean officials say they plan to bring home about 1 000 of their 3 270 troops in phases this year from their current base in the northern region of Irbil, where they help train Iraqi security forces and provide security for United Nations officials stationed in the area.
Although a timeframe and details have not been set, parliament in December approved the staged drawdown while extending the overall deployment to the end of the year.
Unpopular deployment
The South Koreans have not engaged in combat with insurgents, but their deployment nonetheless has been highly unpopular back home.
Italy, which has about 2 600 troops based in the southern city of Nasiriyah, announced last month it would withdraw all its forces by the end of 2006. Officials say the troops will be pulled out gradually and that the current contingent will be roughly halved by June, with civilians replacing soldiers in some tasks.
Japan, which has 600 non-combat troops in Samawah to purify water and carry out other humanitarian tasks, has officially denied media reports that it plans to begin bringing its forces home as early as March, with the withdrawal completed by May.
The British defence secretary denied "we've got sneaky plans to cut and run," though Reid acknowledged meeting with Japan's defence minister last month and said Britain's military has "planned for all contingencies."
Associated Press reporters Danica Kirka in London and David McHugh in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this story.
Yes, it is - after some duties had been taken over by the Iraqis trained by Polish instructors.
Interesting bit of history there (thanks!).
Pravda is definitely screwed up and mostly unreliable. But so is the NYT these days.
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