Poland Resentful of US

http://watchingamerica.com/News/231829/poland-resentful-of-us/

Poland Resentful of US
Newsweek Polska, Poland
By Maciej Nowicki
Translated By Dariusz Koźbiał
31 January 2014
Edited by Eliz­a­beth Schwartz

~snip~

Wess Mitchell, the president of the American think tank, the Center for European Policy Analysis, recently said to me that the transformations in Poland and Central Europe in 1989 were the most important success of the American policy promoting democracy since World War II. However, he complained, American presence in the region is practically un-noticeable.

Of course, one could put all the blame on Washington. One could also call to mind the stupidity of Bush, or Obama’s arrogance, when he cancelled the development of the anti-missile shield based in Poland on the anniversary of the Soviet aggression on Poland, Sept. 17th, 1939, with just one call. After that, one could state that our resentment is wholly justified. It is probably time to look at this from another perspective and make an examination of conscience — even the hastiest one.

Polish foreign policy is getting noticeably more Berlin-oriented since the outbreak of crisis. As the foreign minister of Poland put it in his well-known speech: We are afraid, above all, of one thing — German inaction. However, in geopolitical matters connected with security Germany is, and will certainly remain, inactive. German isolationism is now obvious to everyone. It is Berlin that always answers "no" first to every single action proposal in Europe. This policy of the Germans to abstain can be somewhat understood. Germany is an economic hegemon and the biggest country in Europe. If it towered in one additional category over the rest, no one would tolerate it.

However, Poland is not a hegemonic state. It has to care for its security — I do not assert that it will happen, however: Ukraine could really fall apart, as shown by the recent accidents. So, maybe, it is not enough to echo German sentiment that neither Libya nor Syria interest us, or to say that we do not take interest in anything happening outside our own backyard. Americans are neither the ideal nor the most credible ally. They deceived us more than once, and, since the end of World War II, they have never shown disregard to Europe as much as they do now. However, maybe it would be worth something to make an effort to gain at least some of their attention.