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Post by Bonobo on Sept 5, 2009 20:05:38 GMT 1
Are you sure, I talked with some adults in Poland, and showed them a map, and they could not find it, and the U.S.A. is much larger than Poland. These people must not have gone to fourth grade, they must have drooped out of school to be doctors and nurses, and bankers. Mike ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Mike, do you always carry a map and show it to people in foreign countries??? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D |
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Post by valpomike on Sept 6, 2009 15:22:03 GMT 1
Yes, don't you?
Mike
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 13, 2009 21:44:33 GMT 1
US reassures Poland on missile defense plans(AP)
9/1/09
WASHINGTON — The United States is assuring Poland that it has not made a decision on where to deploy a European missile defense system but will keep Warsaw informed.
U.S. national security adviser James Jones gave the message Tuesday to Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Gdansk, where the two officials are attending WWII remembrance ceremonies. The White House later issued a statement on the meeting.
It said that Jones conveyed "the United States' firm and unwavering commitment to Poland's security and defense."
The message comes amid nervousness in Poland that the Obama administration is preparing to drop plans to build a missile interceptor site on Polish soil.
The plans, which also call for a radar in the Czech Republic, are opposed by Russia.
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Post by valpomike on Sept 14, 2009 19:00:02 GMT 1
No one but our leader cares what Russia thinks, I don't.
We need show Poland, this time, we keep our word.
Mike
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 16, 2009 22:23:14 GMT 1
Sikorski spoke out: Poland doesn`t really count for US. It was truth known to experts for a long time.
Foreign Minister Rados³aw Sikorski said Wednesday that Poland was not a strategic ally of the United States, but rather a "regional" one.
"No EU country can, by itself, be a strategic partner with the US," he said. Asked whether Poland and the United States were gradually drifting apart, he responded that Poland should acquire a more realistic outlook to its relations with Washington. He added that even Great Britain, considered one of the closest allies of the US, as London had no impact on the decision on waging a war against Iraq.
Sikorski was responding to observations made after the US decided not to send a high-profile delegation to last week's WW II anniversary ceremony in Gdansk. The Obama administration also appears less keen on the anti-missile shield agreed between Warsaw and the previous Bush government.
Minister Sikorski said today that individual countries in Europe would be best to work in a collective body such as the European Union as a partner to the United States.
Following a meeting held between Minister Sikorski and National Security Advisor General James Jones, however, the US official said the Polish-US relations were very good and becoming stronger.
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 18, 2009 21:10:50 GMT 1
Obama said: No shield in Poland and Czechia. OK, it seems Poles are not so worried. 56% say it`s fine. 30% deplore.
Poles won`t miss the shield.  A poll about the presence of American troops in Poland: Yes - 28% No - 68%.  |
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Post by valpomike on Sept 18, 2009 21:24:11 GMT 1
But G. Bush gave his word, and this leader, can't and won't keep it, he would rather kiss up to Putin and Russia, and this makes me very upset.
Mike
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 18, 2009 21:29:02 GMT 1
But G. Bush gave his word, and this leader, can't and won't keep it, he would rather kiss up to Putin and Russia, and this makes me very upset. Mike Mike, as an American you should be more realistic. Russians are the only nation in the world who possess means to destroy America with their nukes. Do you want to be nuked out of this world one day? That is why American leaders must always take notice of what Russians want. |
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Post by valpomike on Sept 19, 2009 1:08:23 GMT 1
I think Russia has sold off many of her nukes, and we can still kick there ass, any day, but we may need the help of Poland.
Mike
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 21, 2009 21:01:32 GMT 1
Poland least supportive of US policy
Poles split on NATO membership and Afghanistan
The Warsaw Business Journal
10th September 2009
According to the annual Transatlantic Trends report, European countries are more supportive of US foreign policy under Barack Obama than they were of the George W Bush administration' s policies. Poland, a strong US ally in recent years, did not show the same immense growth of support as other European countries, however.
"Poland was the least supportive country in Europe of President Obama's foreign policy, with only 55 percent of participants having a favorable view," the report read. The number still marks an 11 percent increase in Polish support since 2008, when President Bush was in office. Yet at that time the figure placed Poland among the staunchest supporters of the Bush administration.
The 2009 report showed that 92 percent of Germans and 91 percent of Italians approved of Mr Obama's policies.
Polish annoyance
The low level of support for the Obama administration can be explained by Poles' dissatisfaction with the way their country's current role in US foreign policy.
The ongoing uncertainty regarding the US missile shield deal is one example. Another the US's decision to send General James Jones, the US national security advisor, as its representative to the September 1 events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the start of WWII. Earlier the country had planned to send a Clinton-era former defense secretary to the event, which was attended by a number of major European politicians. Both choices causing an uproar in Poland.
"If Americans continue to act this way, Poland may become another France, with a rising anti-American sentiment towards the [US]," professor Bohdan Szklarski, an expert on American issues, told wbj.pl, commenting on the deteriorating American-Polish relationship.
International worries
Poland is on top in one category in the survey, though – around 80 percent of Poles are concerned that Russia will cut off energy supplies, more than any other country surveyed.
Afghanis tan is another issue Poles were concerned about. According to the report, just over half of Polish respondents supported a complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
Only 50 percent of those interviewed said that Poland needed to remain in NATO, a figure well below that seen in other countries, although it was nearly unchanged since 2008. By comparison, 72 percent of UK residents feel their country needs to be part of the alliance.
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 29, 2009 22:29:05 GMT 1
Poland sees merit in new Obama missile plan: aide
By Gareth Jones
Thursday, September 24, 2009
WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's security interests may end up being better served under the flexible defense system now proposed by Washington than it was under the previous land-based plan, an adviser to the Polish prime minister said on Thursday.
Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama shelved a project to install interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar site in the Czech Republic and said he would instead seek a system involving first sea-based and later land-based interceptors.
The key concern for NATO member Poland has been not so much the kind of missile system deployed as the implicit U.S. commitment to its defense implied by the stationing of American military hardware on its soil.
"If this system becomes reality in the shape Washington is now suggesting, it would actually be better for us than the original missile shield programme," said Slawomir Nowak, a senior advisor to Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
"We were never really threatened by a long-range missile attack from Iran," he told TVP INFO television.
The Bush administration first proposed the "missile shield" to address concerns Iran was trying to develop nuclear warheads it could mount on long-range missiles. U.S. intelligence now believes Iran is unlikely to have a long-range capability until between 2015 and 2020.
Russia strongly opposed the shield, especially its planned location in eastern Europe near to its borders, and has warmly welcomed Obama's decision.
Polish officials say Washington may ask Poland eventually to host SM-3 interceptors targeting short and medium-range missiles as part of the new land-based system.
"Firstly, we have to learn what exactly is the new proposal the United States is willing to offer to us," said Nowak.
"We are familiar with the SM-3 system and the Americans have assured us Poland is one of the countries where they want to place this system."
Under the new plan, Washington would deploy Aegis-equipped ships first with interceptors capable of shooting down ballistic missiles to defend both U.S. forces and European allies.
The land-based systems would be fielded in a second phase starting in about 2015.
STILL DISSATISFIED
Ex-communist countries in eastern Europe are perturbed by Russia's increasingly assertive foreign policy, especially its short war with Georgia last year. Poles also fret about its neighbor Ukraine possibly returning to Moscow's fold.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski has been particularly critical of Moscow and has expressed dismay at Obama's decision.
After meeting Obama on the sidelines of the U.N. annual general assembly in New York on Wednesday, Kaczynski told Polish television: "I told the president (Obama) of our lack of satisfaction over the abandonment of the missile shield."
A senior member of Tusk's ruling center-right Civic Platform echoed Kaczynski's concerns on Thursday.
"I think for all of us it was a big surprise that the United States backed away so quickly from the missile shield. This is a reason to say frankly that this is a problem for Poland," Zbigniew Chlebowski told Polish radio.
An opinion poll published last weekend showed 48 percent of Poles thought Obama's decision was good for Poland, while 31 percent took the opposite view. Analysts do not expect the decision to dent the popularity of Tusk's government.
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 12, 2009 0:20:27 GMT 1
The Polish-American Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) has been signed in Warsaw today.
SOFA allows for the United States military to station American troops and military equipment on Polish territory.
During the signing ceremony, Polish Minister of Defense, Bogdan Klich, said that, for Poland, the agreement means a strengthening in the country’s national security.
“This is an important moment in current cooperation between the US and Poland,” said Klich, adding that it paves the way for a clear future for the two countries to cooperate.
The SOFA agreement opens the way for the promised Patriot missiles and US troops to be stationed in Poland next year as part of an upgrading of NATO air defences in Europe. The negotiations have been going on for the last 14 months.
Additionally, SOFA includes provisions for American troops to pay taxes in Poland and if any crimes are committed outside the base then they would come to be under the jurisdiction of Polish law.
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Post by tufta on Dec 12, 2009 11:10:06 GMT 1
In the last days before signing the treaty the Americans wanted to make their soldiers independent from Polish law, the way they are in Britain, Italy, Germany or elsewhere, but the trick didn't work.
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Post by valpomike on Dec 12, 2009 17:35:25 GMT 1
I think, all who stay or live in Poland are under the Polish law, at all times, no matter why you are there. When I visit, I follow the Polish law, the best I can.
Mike
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Post by Bonobo on May 26, 2010 19:24:39 GMT 1
Poland unveils US Patriot missile battery
26.05.2010 11:15
UPDATE - Defence Minister Bogdan Klich was among the dignitaries officially welcoming the US Patriot missile battery in Poland, Wednesday, along with around 100 American troops, stationed in the northern town of Morag.
The ceremony, at 13.00 CET, Wednesday, was attended by U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Lee Feinstein and director of U.S. Army logistics operations in Europe, Brigadier General Mark Bellini.
“Placing the Patriot batteries in Poland makes the country more secure and contributes to Poland’s cooperation with the U.S,” Minister Klich told the delegates at the ceremony. Klich said that it is important that American troops will be deployed in Poland. “The more America and Europe in Poland, the more Poland in American and European politics,” he said.
The US 5th Battalion arrived from the U.S. base in Germany at the weekend. Since then troops have been unloading and assembling the Patriots, the stationing of which in Poland was initially agreed between Warsaw and Washington during the previous Bush administration. The details were finalized when the two sides signed the Supplemental Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) in February this year.
Strengthening short-and medium-range air defense was a condition put on the negotiations on Poland's participation in the US central European missile defense program, subsequently cancelled by Barack Obama in September last year.
Russian protest
The missile battery, just 60 kilometers from the Russian Kaliningrad border, has brought strong condemnation from Moscow.
According to sources at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in the Kremlin, cited by today’s Russian media, the placement of the American missile battery in Morąg, “does not serve the strengthening of the region’s general security or the development of mutual trust and predictability in the region”.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry also repeats that it finds it difficult to understand the reasoning behind the cooperation between the United States and Poland on this issue.
“We regret to say that our questions towards the Polish and American sides have been left unanswered. As have our arguments for moving the region of the temporary placement of the battery farther away from the Russian border,” stress the sources in the information department at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
A spokesman from Russia’s foreign ministry, again unnamed, told Bloomberg: “It’s not clear why they need Patriot missiles]. This is an anti-aircraft system. There’s an element of anti- missile defense, but not very big.”
Poland defence minister tried to reassure Russian opinion at the ceremony in noirthern Poland today, however.
"Patriot batteries are not a threat to our neighbours. Poland does not treat Russia as a threat. We have good relations with each of our neighbors. We are modernizing our air defense system and other systems in the Polish Army because we are a member of NATO and the European Union," said Minister Klich.
A delegation from Russia’s foreign affairs committee will be in Warsaw, Friday, for talks with acting president Bronislaw Komorowski. “Of course, we will discuss key issues of Russian-Polish relations, including the Patriot problem,” head of the committee, Konstantin Kosachev told the Russia 24 TV news channel. (pg/di)
Sources: IAR/PAP
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Post by valpomike on May 26, 2010 22:32:44 GMT 1
Good, it sure took long enough. It can't hurt in Poland's protection.
Mike
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Post by Bonobo on May 28, 2010 13:04:02 GMT 1
Good, it sure took long enough. It can't hurt in Poland's protection. Mike I am sceptical about the whole thing. A battery of Patriots is a drop in the bucket. Besides, if Russians decided to move against us with full force, the West wouldn`t really move a finger to help Poland. They would only declare sanctions etc. |
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Post by valpomike on May 28, 2010 16:44:46 GMT 1
I don't so. And any help, is better than nothing. You are lucky to get what you got, with this president. Bush would have given more, and would have been there for you, if you needed help.
Mike
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Post by Bonobo on May 30, 2010 8:43:23 GMT 1
I don't so. And any help, is better than nothing. You are lucky to get what you got, with this president. Bush would have given more, and would have been there for you, if you needed help. Mike Russians don`t like American rockets in Poland. Imagine Russian rockets in Cuba or Mexico. How would you feel? ;D ;D ;D www.thenews.pl/international/artykul132558_russia----patriots-in-poland-violates-nato-agreements.html
Russia - ‘Patriots in Poland violates NATO agreements’
29.05.2010 08:51
The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that the permanent stationing of US Patriot missiles in Poland, which arrived in the country this week, “is a violation of the basic agreement between Russia and NATO in 1997.”
Deputy head of Russian diplomacy Aleksandr Grushko told the Golos Rosyi radio station that NATO the document says that all sides must refrain from stationing permanent military forces in border regions, including territories of new member states.
The Patriot missiles and around 100 American troops are stationed in Poland just 60 kilometres from Russia’s Kaliningrad border.
Minister Grushko said Moscow is monitoring the process since the presence of these missiles evokes anxiety. The official added that there are no logical explanations for stationing Patriots near Russia’s borders.
On Thursday Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, demanded an explanations from Poland and the US on the issue.
The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian Lower House Konstantin Kosachov, in Warsaw this week, said that from the military view point the location of Patriot missiles on Polish territory seems irrelevant, but raises questions of political nature.
Sikorski - no apologies
“Poland will not apologise for exercises or training conducted together with her allies,” said Poland’s head of diplomacy. Radoslaw Sikorski.
Commenting on the statement of the Russian deputy foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski said that the S-300 Russian air defence system is stationed close to Poland’s border. He underlined that as a NATO state Poland has every right to set up defence systems together with its ally and this should not cause any problems. |
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Post by Bonobo on May 15, 2016 21:56:34 GMT 1
The shield has been discussed for over a year now. The deal has been reached and it is going to be built. As we are going to hear about it many times to come, a seperate thread will come in handy. The current issue is: Will Russia eventually swallow the bitter pill? It took 8 years. Not bad. 
Official start of construction at US missile shield base
13.05.2016 14:33
Construction of a US missile shield base at Redzikowo in northern Poland officially starts on Friday, in the presence of Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Nearly eight years since Poland and America signed a deal on interceptor missiles, the foundation stone is formally being put in place, although builders have already been at the site of the former airstrip for some months.
After the United States activated a USD 800 million missile shield in Romania on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned of a response of a “military and technical nature.”
Meanwhile in Poland, local communities in the Słupsk area have been vocal with protests, concerned over the impact on the local Baltic tourist industry, among other things- See more at: www.thenews.pl/1/6/Artykul/252669,Official-start-of-construction-at-US-missile-shield-base#sthash.aENR4zef.dpuf |
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