Posted by The US will not send a high-level government representative to the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II.
The former president of Poland Lech Wałęsa is sharply criticial of the US in a column in the high-circulation tabloid Fakt:
“One must honestly say that American politicians have only treated us seriously when they felt it would work to their own advantage. Of course the American people have always supported us, there can be no doubt about that. But politically all they have done is use us. Unfortunately that was already apparent in the days of ‘Solidarność. Let’s not forget how the American politicians cried out that Poland and ‘Solidarność’ must be helped.
… But in fact the Soviet Union and Gorbachev – and later Russia – received far more from the US.”
Photo: The former president of Poland Lech Wałęsa / Archive
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It is shameful that the Obama adminisrration does not provide a senior delegation to mark the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany.
However Wałęsa’s statements are also shameful. The US was at the forefront of leading the cut in Polish Paris Club debt run up by the Communists by Billions of Dollars (the German and Japanese banks were totally against debt forgiveness), the US invested hundreds of millions of Dollars helping the private economy under the SEED act, the Clinton Administration was the leader in getting Poland into NATO when the rest of NATO was wavering. Who is using who? With this kind of mentality why should one American soldier risk his/her life defending Poland?
> Peter Strupp on August 29th, 2009 9:21 am
> With this kind of mentality why should
one American soldier risk his/her life defending Poland?
I may not always agree with Mr Wałęsa’s comments, but to ask why american soldiers would risk their life defending Poland because Poles did and still do. Afghanistan, Iraq even the American revolutionary war are just few examples.