During state visit to U.S. Kwasniewski focuses on Poland's regional role (07/28/02)

During state visit to U.S. Kwasniewski focuses on Poland's regional role

by Andrew F. Tully
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report

Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski is only the second head of state to be invited to the White House on a state visit since U.S. President George W. Bush took office 19 months ago.

At a welcoming ceremony on July 17 and during a news conference later in the day, both presidents spoke of the closeness of Polish-U.S. relations and their agreement on dominant international issues: the war against terrorism and the state of the world economy.

During the White House welcoming ceremony, President Kwasniewski said the two countries may be half a world apart, but they still think alike. "Never before have we had so much in common and never before has so much resulted from these bonds. Today Poland and the United States, despite the big geographical distance, are partners and allies," he noted.

Later, during a joint news conference, President Bush spoke of Poland's contributions to the war on terrorism and how the two countries have very similar outlooks on international issues. "America and Poland see the world in similar terms. We both understand the importance of defeating the forces of global terror, and America appreciates all that Poland is contributing to this great struggle. Our nations also understand the importance of building a better world beyond terror, one where prosperity replaces poverty," Mr. Bush said.

At a joint news conference, President Kwasniewski and Bush said they spent two hours discussing a wide range of topics, focusing on how the two countries work together on international security and Poland's efforts to make the difficult transition to a market economy.

As a NATO member, Poland has contributed materially to the U.S.-led war against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, just as it did in 1999 in the alliance's military action in Yugoslavia.

Poland also was in the vanguard of resistance to its socialist rulers a decade before the break-up of the Soviet Union and the demise of Communist control of Eastern Europe. In the past decade it has surpassed its neighbors in developing an open economy.

In an article published on July 17 in The New York Times, President Kwasniewski expressed pride in his country's economic transformation. He wrote that in 1990 more than 70 percent of Poland's gross domestic product was produced in state-run enterprises. Today, he wrote, more than 70 percent of Poland's GDP is privately produced.

Because Mr. Kwasniewski was in Washington on a formal state visit, he was greeted at the White House with a welcoming ceremony, complete with the U.S. Marine Band performing the anthems of both countries. The ceremony also included the presentation of the countries' flags and honor guards. The visit culminated in the evening with a formal state dinner in the White House's State Dining Room.

The only other foreign head of state to pay a state visit to the Bush White House is Vicente Fox, president of Mexico. The U.S. president honored his Mexican counterpart because Mr. Bush hoped to increase economic and other exchanges between the two neighboring countries.

Mr. Bush said inviting Mr. Kwasniewski for a state visit recognizes the great importance that his administration places on the friendship between Poland and the United States. Thomas Carothers, who specializes in Eastern and Southeastern Europe at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told RFE/RL that President Bush wanted to honor Poland's economic success. "It's supportive of our basic economic and political and security interests, and there's just a deep attachment to Poland's successful transition in Eastern Europe. It's a leader in that region," Mr. Carothers noted.

Mr. Carothers said he believes that Mr. Bush also wanted to reassure Poles that his close association with Russian President Vladimir Putin poses neither a military nor an economic threat to Poland. "Some Poles, I think, have been a little concerned about America's much more positive relationship with Russia and [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin, and possibly by giving full honors at this kind of visit, it's a way to assure them that we haven't forgotten about our very important relationship with Poland," Mr. Carothers explained.

Ted Carpenter, vice-president for defense and foreign-policy studies at the Cato Institute, another Washington think-tank, agreed that Mr. Bush is interested in reassuring Poles, but not the Poles in Poland. Mr. Carpenter told RFE/RL that President Bush's invitation to President Kwasniewski was a cynical move based on domestic politics. According to Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Bush wants to endear himself to Americans of Polish decent and others whose ancestors came from the region.

"If one looks at domestic politics in the United States, [Bush's honoring of Kwasniewski is] an appeal to an ethnic bloc, namely that of Central and East European descendants here in the United States," Mr. Carpenter said. "I think that's probably the main reason."

At the close of the White House news conference, President Kwasniewski said he and Mr. Bush also discussed ways to bring Poland's neighbor, Ukraine, into the European mainstream.

Poland has served as a kind of mediator for Ukraine in dealings with the West, particularly the United States. Mr. Carothers said President Kwasniewski is doing a good job acting on his neighbor's behalf, but he stressed that there is just so much Poland can do. He said it is up to Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma to embrace reform if he wants his country to join NATO, much less become an integral part of a new Europe. "I don't think we're envisaging Ukraine as a member of NATO any time in the near future, so it's not so much with NATO membership per se, but more about just trying to prevent a sense of Ukraine being isolated from the West," Mr. Carothers said.

Mr. Carpenter described Poland as being a broader role model for all the former Communist countries of Europe. As for specific efforts to make Ukraine ready to join NATO, Mr. Carpenter said Warsaw has a blunt message for Kyiv. "As the club continues to grow, one doesn't want to be on the outside looking in," Mr. Carpenter said. "And I think that's perhaps the message that Warsaw is conveying to Kyiv: 'You'd better get your act together [and begin reforming]; otherwise you're going to be in an unholy triumvirate with Russia and Belarus as the only countries in Europe not eventually admitted to NATO'."

Nevertheless, President Kwasniewski said at the July 17 news conference that he believes Ukraine should play what he called "a more important role in the region." Ukraine, a country of 50 million people, has great agricultural and industrial resources, and, as Mr. Kwasniewski pointed out, lies at the geographical heart of Europe.

Andrew F. Tully is an RFE/RL correspondent.

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