Posted on 02/05/2007 9:29:57 AM PST by A. Pole
WARSAW, Poland - Polish Defense Minister Radek Sikorski, who has strong ties to the United States, has resigned after the country's prime minister expressed "reservations" about his work, a government spokesman said Monday.
Sikorski's departure deprives Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's weak government of an internationally respected figure, just as Warsaw begins negotiations with Washington over whether to host a missile defense base.
Poland also is in the process of building up its contingent in Afghanistan from 100 to about 1,000, and is a strong U.S. ally in Iraq.
Government spokesman Jan Dziedziczak said that Sikorski had resigned after speaking with Kaczynski. The prime minister had "reservations" about Sikorski's work, Dziedziczak said. He did not elaborate.
The United States is hoping to set up missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. The system would combine long-range radar and ballistic rockets, with the aim of detecting and shooting down missiles fired from the Middle East.
Jacek Kucharczyk, the deputy head of a Warsaw think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, said Sikorski's departure was unlikely to affect Warsaw's general stance on missile defense, or its support for U.S. missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Kaczynski and his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, support strong ties with Washington.
However, Kucharczyk said the resignation could hurt Warsaw as it opens talks with the U.S. on missile defense.
"Sikorski would have been well-placed to negotiate good conditions for Poland," he said. "I think his resignation may make it easier for the Americans to get what they want without giving so much in exchange."
There was no immediate word on who would succeed Sikorski.
His resignation highlights the weakness of the coalition government led by Kaczynski and his Law and Justice party.
Since taking power in October 2005, the Law and Justice-led government has had two premiers, five finance ministers, two treasury ministers and two foreign ministers.
The Oxford-educated Sikorski, 43, was a deputy defense and deputy foreign minister in previous conservative governments. He worked as a resident fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington immediately before becoming defense minister in October 2005.
Sikorski is married to Washington Post columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum.
I don’t know the guy but he seems to be stuck in this stuff, I’m not. Perhaps Sikorski is a good guy but not in the right place.
And what kind of response do you want to read after you post such bullshits ? It's really not even funny anymore.
Antoni Macierewicz is a very principled man. He made his life mission to free Polish politics from Communist collaborators. This is a fact, whether you agree with him or not.
Kaczynski brothers agree with this stand and they worked together with Macierewicz for many years in anti-Communist opposition when Sikorski was only a child.
It was not very political on Mr. Sikorski side to attempt to remove Macierewicz. He could as well demand that Kaczynski twins break ties one with another :) Ain't gonna work baby!
Personally I wish them all, good luck.
Saw an article in Culture Wars which (basically) stated that the Polish government has been dominated by the Commies since Lech Walensa's uprising--that the Commies have blockaded other parties from Sejm majority very effectively.
It's related to the Iraqi thing, for unless I miss my bet, the old KGB/Commie bunch is pushing a few buttons among the suicide-Islamists to keep the pot boiling.
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