ANALYSIS

Bush in Krakow calls for trans-Atlantic unity

by Jan Maksymiuk
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report

U.S. President George W. Bush visited Krakow where he delivered a keynote speech on U.S.-European relations at Wawel Royal Castle, the seat of Polish kings from the 11th to the 17th centuries. Speaking ahead of a meeting with European leaders at the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Evian, France, Bush called for U.S.-European unity in the face of current challenges. He said there is no conflict between the United States and Europe. "This is no time to stir up divisions in a great alliance," PAP quoted him as saying.

"I have come to Krakow to state the intentions of my country," President Bush said. "The United States is committed to a strong Atlantic alliance, to ensure our security, to advance human freedom, and to keep peace in the world."

The U.S. president took an evidently conciliatory note toward European countries that opposed the U.S.-led war on Iraq, notably Germany and France, when he said, "We welcome, we need the help, the advice and the wisdom of our European friends and allies."

"Europe and America will always be joined by more than our interests," he added.

Mr. Bush praised the role of Polish soldiers in fighting terrorism. "In the battles of Afghanistan and Iraq, Polish forces served with skill and honor," he said. "Poland rose to the moment. Again you have lived out the words of the Polish motto: for your freedom and ours."

Apparently addressing the fears in Poland that the close U.S.-Polish partnership may tarnish Warsaw's relations with the European Union, Mr. Bush stressed that Poland's future was in the EU. "Poland struggled for decades to gain freedom and to fully participate in life in Europe," he said. "And soon you will be a member of the European Union. ... Poland is a good citizen of Europe and Poland is a close friend of America - and there is no conflict between the two."

In an interview with Polish Television before his address in Krakow, President Bush commented on French President Jacques Chirac's derogatory statement earlier this year that some Central and Eastern European countries that voiced official support for the U.S. action in Iraq missed an opportunity "to shut up."

"I think that it is unfortunate that some European states attempted to wipe Poland's nose in the dirt for standing up for its convictions," Mr. Bush said. "I don't think you will be isolated [in the EU]. I feel that Poland is too important a state. In my view, the days of sharp lectures have passed. I think that Poland will be an important member of the EU and that it will be received with open arms. And so I think that this was just a momentary explosion of emotional rhetoric."

In a step that has a chance to considerably contribute to healing the U.S.-European rift over Iraq, NATO decided on June 2 to provide support in intelligence, communications, logistics, movement coordination, and force generation to the Polish-led stabilization force in Iraq, Reuters reported.

Jan Maksymiuk is the Belarus, Ukraine and Poland specialist on the staff of RFE/RL Newsline.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 8, 2003, No. 23, Vol. LXXI

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