POLAND STARTING TO BALK AT US BULLYING

 
Below is our translation of an article from the Polish site dziennik.pl with commentary and notes [in brackets] by Vince Dhimos. The Polish presidential advisor cited herein mentions that the Poles have been fools for buying only US arms based on their inherent Russophobia, but he omits to mention the masochistic refusal to buy cheap Russian gas in favour of US LNG, at an extravagant price, which even requires building a huge expensive terminal with cryogenic storage and treatment facilities, all in the unrealistic hopes that the rest of Europe would buy gas from this Polish “hub.” I described this boondoggle here at New Silk Strategies. As it turns out, as any half-wit would have expected, Germany is now poised to become the real European gas hub, despite the sanctions on the new nearly-finished Russian-German pipeline as I discussed here and here. The furious US is making these sanctions as painful as possible for Europe, but in so doing, is fast making enemies of old friends. Poland is already gradually tilting away from the US, as shown by our translation.
 
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Professor Witold Modzelewski, a member of the President's National Development Council, writes that Americans are simpletons and our [Poland’s] protests against the annexation of Crimea are pathetic.
 
Although Modzelewski is known mainly as a tax advisor, he is also involved in "economic and historical journalism, especially in the areas of Russia and Polish-Russian relations." His new book, “Poland – Russia 1919, - reflections on the past century,” has just been published. The publisher is the Institute of Tax Studies Modzelewski i Wspólnicy. This is the sixth volume in the series.
 
A member of the presidential consultative body does not shy away from straightforward opinion. "Humiliated and battered by the rudeness of ‘strategic partners’ who eagerly exploit our [Poland’s] political solitude and systemic hostility towards Russia, we have long withdrawn from participation in ‘world’ politics. (...) The Americans squandered, within a matter of days, the goodwill capital in Poland from the last hundred years.
 
However, we know that they are simpletons (...)," he writes in the context of the Warsaw Middle East conference. He also criticizes our armament purchases across the Atlantic: “As always, they made fools of us, because we pay billions of amounts for some decommissioned American armaments, and they usually humiliate their clients." He writes about Israeli politicians: "they kick us in the teeth, and when we retaliate, they immediately scream about ‘Polish anti-Semitism,’ which we are known to have imbibed with our mother's milk ".
 
However, the focus of the book is Polish-Russian relations: "There now are probably also those who do business by exploiting our stupidity, especially by scaring us with some “threat." We know who plays the demon – it’s “Putin's Russia,“ which ‘threatens us,’ so we have to arm ourselves, but we can't make new weapons ourselves any more. We have to buy them from our proven friends (friendship requires sacrifices). I wonder which politicians are really obsessed with Russia and which are showing fear for a price?" Here, it is worth recalling the statement of President Andrzej Duda in June in Washington: - We would like Russia to be our friend, but unfortunately Russia is showing its imperial face again, which is very unpleasant for us. And we do not want to be in the Russian sphere of influence. I’m glad we can confidently say today, also in connection with the military presence of the United States and NATO in Poland, that, politically, we are indeed primarily part of the West.
 
There are also striking arguments regarding border changes: "However, since we were not protesting at the time against the change of borders in Europe, since the “unification of Germany” gave rise to the new post-Cold War history of this region of the world, let us harbour no illusions: there will be more of these changes (...). Our protests against the "annexation of Crimea," which the Polish governments "will never recognize," are pathetic and resemble the complaint of a frustrated child – we have let ourselves be moved into the battlefield and we are worse off for it."
 
How to reconcile this with the views of prof. Modzelewski sitting in a body advising the president? There are over 100 representatives of various sections in the National Development Council. Professor Witold Modzelewski works in the "Economy, labour, entrepreneurship" section, not in the "Security, defence, foreign policy" section. I don't know if the president has talked about international politics with the professor - explains Błażej Spychalski, spokesman for President Duda.
 
Modzelewski himself also dispels doubts. “I do not think that anyone has any influence on the international policy pursued by the President, and least of all my humble person - answers our questions.” My membership in the National Development Council, which is a great distinction for me, is related to the fact that for over 40 years I have been professionally dealing with the issues of tax and tax law, including as a university professor. It has nothing to do with historical literature, which I have also been dealing with for several decades.