Posted on 08/21/2008 12:09:41 PM PDT by lizol
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 is obsessed with the past and how it shapes the present.
The first wave of Polish immigration to the UK took place at the end of the second world war, when an estimated 200,000 Poles were given British citizenship, one way or another, because of Kremlin foreign policy.
Many had been deported by Russian troops from eastern Poland to Siberian concentration camps when the Nazis and Soviets were allied with each other at the start of the war. When the Soviets changed sides and allied with the British, the Poles were released and formed the "Anders army", which trekked from Siberia to Iran to join the British army for the north Africa and Italy campaigns.
These Polish war veterans couldn't return to their country at the end of the war, because it had been taken by Stalin at Yalta. Those naive enough to return faced imprisonment or death. The rest formed the Polish communities in Hammersmith, Ealing and elsewhere, that have given hope to Polish migrants ever since.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
If anyone is justified in distrusting the Russians, it’s the Poles, and the Russians richly deserve it.
I commend the Polish government and people for their willingness to stand up to Russia. I hope the US/EU/NATO will stand by them if/when they are attacked by the Russians.
"elsewhere" like Chicago where we have a larger Polish population than Krakow.
L
Keeping over 300,000 troops in Europe (for over 50 years)assured that they would see the longest peace in history, since Rome. But we reduced our Military and it seems the Europeans are back in full thrust.
My 88 y.o. German mother has many horror stories about the Russians....
C'mon, it's the Guardian.
The Poles are an amazing people. I am so impressed by their courage and integrity. They are an inspiration for all of us.
Some of the German-haters will be here shortly to say your mother deserved to be gang-raped and murdered by the glorious Red Army. Count on it.
Yep, 1000-year grudges, societal little man syndrome, recreational ethnic cleansing, cynical nihilism and chronic wastrelism...it's like a theme park of dysfunction. It's like Africa on speed and anabolic steroids.
Georgia is a dagger aimed at the heart of Russia.
No, few people deserved the fates that befell them during the Second World War. However, the Russians could legitimately be said to have been inflamed by German behavior in Russia.
A. J. Leibling, reporting from post war Berlin, described the Red Army as a mob, poorly organized and almost completely undisciplined except in the most rudimentary and brutish way.
Very little different from the Russian army rampaging in Georgia today.
Today's Russians chaff at their loss of status as the world's bogeyman but most of them probably just want to have quiet life. Putin's a cretin.
Having a would-be invader on your borders tends to change your priorities.
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