Hard Truth: Poland Needs America More Than America Needs Us – Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland
Sep 30th, 2009 | 2 responses
For those who have been following the European reaction to President Obama’s decision to ditch the Bush-era anti-missile shield, you know that the divide between East and West Europe has been stark.
This article by Bartosz Weglarczyk of Poland’s Gazeta Wyborcza, in very cool-eyed fashion, councils Poles on some down home truths and urges people in that nation to accept the inevitable end of a period of unusually close cooperation with the United States. But not, however, to give up on close ties.
For Gazeta Wyborcza, Bartosz Weglarczyk writes in part:
“After the White House’s decision to abandon plans to build an anti-missile shield … relations between Warsaw and Washington will have to change. The year 2009 seems to mark the end of a close and quite long-lasting alliance – 9 years.
“Today we’ve become victims of our own success. Central Europe is stable, belongs to NATO and the European Union, there are no terrible threats and it continues to develop and enrich itself. Washington no longer has to watch over us – it has far more pressing problems in Afghanistan and Iran, and China and Israel – places we know less of, and where, unfortunately, we have little hope of exerting influence.
“Poland has never had a problem choosing between loyalty to our allies across the Atlantic and those in Brussels. Treating this issue as a dispute was and remains erroneous. Poland has a role to play as a country that brings together these two giants. Such an outcome is in the interests of both Europe and the United States.”
By Bartosz W?glarczyk
Translated By Halszka Czarnocka
September 19, 2009
Poland – Gazeta Wyborcza – Original Article (Polish)
Poland still needs a strong alliance with the United States. The shield might have been its foundation; now we simply need to look for something to substitute for it.
After the White House’s decision to abandon plans to build an anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, relations between Warsaw and Washington will have to change. The year 2009 seems to mark the end of a close and quite long-lasting alliance – 9 years.
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2 Responses to “Hard Truth: Poland Needs America More Than America Needs Us – Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland”
This is laughable. The missile defense system would not have protected Poland from nuclear attack. The missiles that were to be installed are designed to shoot down ICBMs meant for the United States mid flight and were useless against regional missiles.
It was never the intent of the proposed U.S. missile defense installations to defend Poland. Besides, I cannot imagine Poland being very high on the nuclear target list anyway. However they lost several lucrative construction contracts and that is probably what they are crying over. The system was only marginally effective anyway and way to expensive.
This is just more Republican disingenuous crap against President Obama for cheap political reasons.
What Poland needs is a well run, militarily integrated, democratic, politically & economically stable EU.