Slawomir Debski: Taking Central Europe for Granted
[Slawomir Debski is director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs in Warsaw.]
WARSAW — Washington’s pullout from the missile defense projects in Poland and the Czech Republic has been received there with disappointment. Not so much because of the logic behind the decision, but mostly because of the arrogant way it was sold to the world, trampling previous informal arrangements. The credibility of U.S. foreign policy was dealt a painful blow.
Some of the people who 12 months earlier were making the case for the missile defense installation in Poland and the Czech Republic today are equally vocal in naming the project’s faults.
The Obama administration’s aversion to the missile-defense project in general and to the idea of placing an American radar and a base for 10 interceptors in Central Europe in particular was well known in Prague and Warsaw.
The expectation, however, was that if Washington, for tactical reason related to its Iran policy, decided to change its mind, it would present this jointly as an agreed decision of the U.S., Polish and Czech governments.
The Poles and the Czechs wanted nothing more than to be treated as partners and allies who many times before had offered help and assistance to the United States, most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, Washington acted unilaterally, as if it wanted to take the Poles and Czechs by surprise.
If competence in Central European matters was appreciated in Washington, then perhaps no one would be making nonsensical comments about how Poland and the Czech Republic engaged in too much support for George W. Bush.
Both countries supported the United States in Afghanistan and in Iraq because they were asked for assistance by the U.S. government. Grateful for NATO membership, they felt themselves bound to provide this assistance.
But when the Bush administration again asked for assistance, this time on missile defense, Poland and the Czech Republic did not jump for joy. They believed they had paid their debt of gratitude and squared their accounts with the Americans...
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WARSAW — Washington’s pullout from the missile defense projects in Poland and the Czech Republic has been received there with disappointment. Not so much because of the logic behind the decision, but mostly because of the arrogant way it was sold to the world, trampling previous informal arrangements. The credibility of U.S. foreign policy was dealt a painful blow.
Some of the people who 12 months earlier were making the case for the missile defense installation in Poland and the Czech Republic today are equally vocal in naming the project’s faults.
The Obama administration’s aversion to the missile-defense project in general and to the idea of placing an American radar and a base for 10 interceptors in Central Europe in particular was well known in Prague and Warsaw.
The expectation, however, was that if Washington, for tactical reason related to its Iran policy, decided to change its mind, it would present this jointly as an agreed decision of the U.S., Polish and Czech governments.
The Poles and the Czechs wanted nothing more than to be treated as partners and allies who many times before had offered help and assistance to the United States, most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, Washington acted unilaterally, as if it wanted to take the Poles and Czechs by surprise.
If competence in Central European matters was appreciated in Washington, then perhaps no one would be making nonsensical comments about how Poland and the Czech Republic engaged in too much support for George W. Bush.
Both countries supported the United States in Afghanistan and in Iraq because they were asked for assistance by the U.S. government. Grateful for NATO membership, they felt themselves bound to provide this assistance.
But when the Bush administration again asked for assistance, this time on missile defense, Poland and the Czech Republic did not jump for joy. They believed they had paid their debt of gratitude and squared their accounts with the Americans...