-Polskę i Amerykę łączy coś więcej niż tylko strategiczne partnerstwo. Jesteśmy bliskimi przyjaciółmi i sojusznikami ze wspólną historią i wartościami – pisze w artykule dla New York Times minister Witold Waszczykowski.
-To właśnie z powodu naszych bliskich relacji, bardzo ważna sprawą jest, by Stany Zjednoczone zrozumiały położenie Polski. Europa jest targana rosnącą niestabilnością, a Unia Europejska jest osłabiona recesją i zaniepokojona wojnami prowadzonymi tuż za jej granicami. Rosyjska agresja przeciwko Ukrainie, sąsiadowi Polski na wschodzie, jest problemem dla obu naszych krajów - podkreślił szef polskiego MSZ.
Jak wskazuje minister Waszczykowski Polska bardzo poważnie traktuje swoje zobowiązania sojusznicze, inwestując we własne zdolności i przeznaczając na obronę 2 procent swojego PKB, progiem wyznaczonym przez NATO – co mogą powiedzieć o sobie tylko cztery inne państwa Sojuszu liczącego 28 członków. -Polska niebawem będzie miała na swoim terenie bazę obrony przeciwrakietowej, która stanowi wkład Stanów Zjednoczonych w natowski system obrony przeciw rakietom balistycznym. Braliśmy udział w prawie każdej misji i operacji sojuszniczej za cenę krwi i skarbów- pisze szef polskiej dyplomacji.
Mówiąc o Szycie NATO w Warszawie, minister Waszczykowski wyraża nadzieję na przyjęcie „pakietu warszawskiego”, który miałby przynieść stałą obecność NATO w Polsce. - Jedynie znacząca wysunięta obecność – łącznie z infrastrukturą, jednostkami wojskowymi w terenie oraz zaawansowanymi systemami obronnymi –może zapewnić Polsce i innym sojusznikom w regionie potrzebny nam poziom bezpieczeństwa. Obecność ta powinna być podbudowana regularnymi wspólnymi ćwiczeniami wojskowymi i, przede wszystkim stać się kluczową częścią szczegółowych planów obronnych NATO- dodaje minister Waszczykowski.
-Hasło Kościuszki w walce o niepodległość Stanów Zjednoczonych brzmiało "Za wolność waszą i naszą." Połączone na stałe wspólną historią, interesami i wartościami, Polska i Stany Zjednoczone mogą i powinny przyczynić się do powstania bardziej stabilnej i dobrze prosperującej Europy- wskazuje minister Waszczykowski, podkreślając silne więzy łączące Polskę i Stany Zjednoczone.
Poniżej polecamy artykuł, który ukazał się w New York Times.
Biuro Rzecznika Prasowego
Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych
Why Poland Needs American Support
By WITOLD WASZCZYKOWSKI
Warsaw — SITTING next to Barack Obama at a luncheon during the United Nations General Assembly session in 2009, President Lech Kaczynski of Poland gave his counterpart a copy of “The Peasant Prince,” a biography of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, the Polish military commander who joined George Washington’s army in 1776 and drew up the strategy for the Battles of Saratoga, the turning point of the American Revolution.
And last September, it was the newly elected president of Poland, Andrzej Duda, political heir of Mr. Kaczynski, who sat with Mr. Obama at a dinner during the General Assembly session. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia sat at the same table but seemed somewhat left out of the conversation.
Poland and the United States are more than strategic partners; we are close friends and allies with a shared history and values. After the 9/11 attacks, Poland responded to America’s call for solidarity, and its soldiers served in Iraq. In Afghanistan, Poland provided one of the largest military contingents to the NATO-led mission, and our military advisers continue to help train Afghan troops.
It is precisely because of this close bond that it is vital for the United States to understand the predicament facing Poland. Europe has been rocked by growing instability, with the European Union weakened by recession and troubled by wars waged right on our doorstep. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Poland’s eastern neighbor, is a problem for both our countries.
Poland’s new Law and Justice government is determined to face its international challenges with a bold, realistic and, above all, effective foreign policy. But we cannot do it alone. We need the support of the United States and other NATO allies.
Poland takes its NATO obligations very seriously, investing in our own capabilities and meeting the defense-spending benchmark of 2 percent of our gross domestic product — something only four other members of the 28-country alliance can say. Poland will soon host a missile defense site as part of the American contribution to the NATO ballistic missile defense system. We have participated in virtually every Allied mission and operation, and paid for it with blood and treasure.
With this in mind, Poland is looking forward to hosting the upcoming NATO summit in July, an opportunity for the heads of all NATO member states to recalibrate the alliance’s key strategic missions. At the last summit, in 2014 in Newport, Wales, members agreed to beef up exercises, rotate forces and preposition military equipment in the Eastern European member states. This “Newport package” has been valuable — but it is only a temporary solution. This year, we hope to see a “Warsaw package” that will go much further, including a permanent NATO presence in Poland.
Only a meaningful forward presence — including infrastructure, military ground units and advanced defense systems — can give Poland and other allies in the region the level of security we need. Such a presence must be underpinned by regular joint military drills and, above all, become a core part of precise NATO defense plans.
Such a presence isn’t a radical departure — NATO has already conducted exercises and pre-positioned equipment and vehicles in several Eastern European states. But we need the United States to go further, to take the lead in making a forward presence on NATO’s eastern flank a multinational endeavor.
Polish-American relations go well beyond matters of security. Promoting democratic values and supporting fledgling democracies has been a hallmark of our partnership. Even our shared economic interests are rooted in the belief that stimulating growth and creating equality fortifies democracy — and this is what we have also set out to do at home, in Poland.
Poland’s new government is the first in the country’s history to win an absolute majority and has a unique opportunity to project strength and confidence in the region. Poles voted for the Law and Justice Party last October hoping it would deliver social justice and democratize the political process. We are now answering those demands.
It is true that critics have labeled some of our party’s actions antidemocratic — most notably when the country’s newly elected deputies annulled the appointment of five new members of the Constitutional Court. But that decision was taken to remedy action taken by the previous government — realizing that it would be voted out of power, it rushed to make a series of last-minute judicial appointments to the Constitutional Court. By annulling those appointments, we have made the court more pluralistic and democratic.
In a similar vein, while some have criticized our media reforms, which move the power to appoint public radio and TV chiefs from a supervisory committee to the Treasury minister, the goal is to restore a sense of mission within public media while securing independence, objectivity and pluralism.
Kosciuszko’s motto, in fighting for American independence, was “For your freedom and ours.” Welded together by shared history, interests and values, Poland and the United States can and should contribute to a more stable and prosperous Europe.
Witold Waszczykowski is the minister of foreign affairs for Poland.
26.02.2016 Niedziela.BE // źródło: Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych, Warszawa
