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?"
Look, I'm a conservative and I voted for Bush. But I sure as heck don't drink the Bush kool-aid. Iraq may have been up to know good, but they weren't about to take over the western world. They couldn't even take over Kuwait!
Yeah, well... despite his heroism and leadership, it seems he only bought Europe a few centuries.
You're judging a people you know nothing about.
I said the article is not an accurate reflection of the majority of Polish sentiment. I guess you disagree.
If you reread the article, you can see that the issue is mainly about the visas.
You must have read a different article than the one posted:
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.
I didn't write that.
Secondly, Iraq is hardly a war to save western civilzation. Gimme a break!
It’s about defeating international terrorism and the nations that sponsor/harbor them. The same goals as the rest of the internationl war on terrorism. I guess in your mind, it’s all about oil.
If the Poles feel underappreciated, wait'll they see what we do to the Kurds.
"Look, I'm a conservative and I voted for Bush. But I sure as heck don't drink the Bush kool-aid. Iraq may have been up to know good, but they weren't about to take over the western world. They couldn't even take over Kuwait!"
***
Stop drinking the tunnel vision kool-aid. Iraq could not conventionally invade anyone, true, but they were supporting terrorist organizations (including Al Qaeda) that could at some point detonate nukes in major western cities for failing to convert to Islam or just because. Does THAT qualify as a threat to Western Civilization?
Read a book called "The Connection" by Stephen Hayes before poo-pooing me.
It sounds to me like it's another problem with the State Dept. The visa issue is an easy fix for some low level houseplant at State, but they're not paying attention, as usual. Steering Polish companies in the right direction for better contracts is still a houseplant issue, just higher up.
Phone-calls and letters to Congressmen and Senators would help.
Where are the big Polish communities in the U.S. and who are their Congressmen?
"Contracts in Iraq... Until Iraqi government was created Polish companies didn't get any contracts. Main reason of recently signed contracts is that Polish weapon and other products are quite good and quite cheap, other reason is that Iraqi deputy defense minister and a few other members of Iraqi government studied in Poland in 70's and 80's, speak Polish and probably have some informal connections with some of our government's agencies."
Iraq to buy 131 mln usd worth of military hardware from Poland
AFX ^ | Monday December 13
Posted on 12/13/2004 1:34:07 PM PST by Grzegorz 246
WARSAW (AFX) - Iraq will purchase 131 mln usd worth of military hardware from Poland, Iraqi deputy defense minister Ziad Catan said. Catan said the signing of a contract for the delivery of some 30 helicopters, troop transport vehicles, tanks and handguns was imminent. 'The agreement will be signed any time between now and tomorrow morning,' said Catan during a press conference. Catam added that he hopes Poland will become Iraq's main arms supplier.
Associated Press
Polish Weapons Maker Signs Deal With Iraq
12.15.2004, 10:36 AM
A Polish weapons maker signed a multimillion dollar contract Wednesday to equip the new Iraqi army with helicopters, machine guns and ambulances, a company official said.
"This is a great satisfaction for us," said Roma Sarzynska, a spokeswoman for Bumar PHZ, a state-owned arms supplier that lost a major bid earlier this year for a contract in Iraq.
Poland's Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz praised the deal as "good news" and a "first major step."
Under the US$236 million (euro177 million) deal, Bumar will supply the Iraqi army with helicopters, ambulances, pistols, machine guns and water storage tanks, Sarzynska said. Added to some smaller deals signed earlier this year, Bumar's contracts with the Iraqi army now total nearly US$300 million (euro225 million), Sarzynska said.
Leaders in Poland - which sent troops to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and now command a 6,000-strong international force there - have often expressed frustration that their loyalty to Washington had not resulted in more economic rewards.
Bumar lost a major bid early this year to Nour USA to supply the Iraqi army with a wide rage of equipment. Bumar, which bid US$560 million (euro420 million), accused Nour of underbidding with its offer of US$327 million (euro246 million), which it argued was not enough to meet the technical requirements of the contract.
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2004/12/15/ap1713543.html
Respect to the Poles for their engagement in Iraq but Polands future simply is the EU (economicaly, geographicaly, culturaly, same interests). In 15 years when the parents tell the young Poles about the Iraq war the youngsters will answer "that were different times".
Or maybe it's just because the Polish government made the decision to join the war at times when the Polish voters weren't so sure how the EU adventure would turn out? Add a bit of America=paradise transfigurational thinking to it and your probably quite close to the reasons.
I wouldn't mind yanking the $2 billion we give in aid to Egypt every year and helping out Poland with it.
Grzegorz, I wouldn't take Mr. Dzido's statements compleltely seriously - don't forget that he's still only populist member of Samoobrona. Pozdrawiam!
Sure. I forgot that it isn't obvious for everyone. This article is biased, but anyway is also a little true. I don't say that we should get tonnes of gold, but one of the poorest countries in EU can't fund the richest country in the world.
Yes, you're right.
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