Speaking last week in Washington, following talks with Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: “We plan to establish a new permanent US air detachment in Poland, build missile defences in Poland and develop a contingency plan in the region.”
President Barack Obama shelved the plans of George W Bush administration to install components of a missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic as a result of fierce opposition – and retaliatory threats – from Moscow.
In a separate statement,which has also annoyed the Russian government, Mrs Clinton went out of her way to praise Poland’s struggle against communism and the Soviet Union.
She said: “Since the Gdansk shipyard and Solidarity, Poles know very well that no nation can be completely secure and prosperous if its people cannot have a voice in their own affairs. In just 20 years, Poland has established a transparent government with a vital, vibrant civil society. Poland serves as a model for others to learn from.”
Critics complain that the Poles have simply switched from having Russian troops on their soil to having American servicemen instead.
Nato, under American orders, has recently moved to increase security in Poland and the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the light of what the US perceives as Russian territorial designs in the region.
This fear was reinforced in 2009 when 14,000 Russian and Belarusian troops staged a joint manoeuvre close to the Polish border – simulating an invasion of Poland.
