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Viewing cable 08WARSAW1173, POLES DEEPEN AFGHANISTAN ENGAGEMENT DESPITE PUBLIC

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08WARSAW1173 2008-10-07 06:02 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Warsaw
VZCZCXYZ0004
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHWR #1173/01 2810602
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 070602Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7126
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0092
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECU WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 001173 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR FOR GARBER, EUR/CE FOR PIERANGELO, MORRIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2018 
TAGS: PREL AF PL MAPP
SUBJECT: POLES DEEPEN AFGHANISTAN ENGAGEMENT DESPITE PUBLIC 
OPPOSITION 
 
REF: A. IIR 6 878 0037 08 
     B. IIR 6 878 0015 08 
     C. IIR 6 878 0216 08 
     D. WARSAW 1093 
     E. WARSAW 1140 
     F. WARSAW 1010 
 
Classified By: DCM Quanrud for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY.  On November 1, Poland will increase its 
military presence and take on new responsibilities in 
Afghanistan.  Polish forces will consolidate control over 
military operations in Ghazni province, and a Polish civilian 
contingent will replace its U.S. PRT counterpart over the 
course of the coming year.  There will likely be immediate 
military challenges as Taliban fighters look to "knock out" a 
coalition partner who faces a wary public at home.  The Poles 
are also on a steep learning curve - trying hard to meld 
civilian participation into their counterinsurgency 
strategies - and they have not yet identified funding for 
reconstruction and humanitarian aid. The growing Polish 
footprint in Afghanistan reflects a determination to bolster 
NATO and Polish military credibility, backed by FM Radoslaw 
Sikorski's deep personal convictions. It is also by far the 
riskiest action to date of the cautious Tusk government.  We 
should be prepared to offer the Poles our insights, aid and 
encouragement if this activist GoP consensus is to hold.  END 
SUMMARY 
 
2.  (C) Always ambitious participants in the ISAF mission, 
the Poles are preparing to take their engagement to new 
levels.  Throughout their deployment, Polish forces have 
served without caveats in the areas of South and East 
Afghanistan where the fighting has been heaviest.  They are 
also lobbying other ISAF partners hard to remove their 
caveats as an indispensable prerequisite for victory.  As FM 
Sikorski once joked to the Secretary, the Poles are in the 
awkward position of encouraging the German military to be 
more aggressive . . . in Afghanistan.  Polish troop levels 
are set to rise 1,200 to 1,600 by November 1; Polish forces 
will be consolidated in Ghazni, where they will assume 
responsibility for military operations.  In addition, Poland 
intends to gradually take over the Ghazni PRT from the U.S. 
 
3.  (C)  Poland's political and military leadership views 
Afghanistan first and foremost as a test of NATO and - as was 
the case in Iraq - Poland's reliability as an Ally (reftels 
A, D).  Since NATO (and U.S.) military credibility 
underwrites the Article V guarantee that is so critical to 
Poland's homeland defense strategy, alliance failure in 
Afghanistan is unthinkable.  The Poles also see the 
Afghanistan mission as an opportunity to bolster their 
defense capabilities.  FM Sikorski has told A/S Fried that 
experience in Afghanistan will help Poland enhance its 
homeland defense, reflecting the Poles' perennial 
preoccupation with Russia. 
 
4.  (C)  The GoP is increasing its contributions in 
Afghanistan in the face of daunting organizational and 
political challenges.  To date, Polish military commanders 
have sought to remain closely tied to U.S. forces.  They are 
worried that tying themselves regionally and to a Polish 
civilian PRT could sever operational connections with U.S. 
forces, despite U.S. assurances of support (Reftel C).  The 
Poles are also still wrestling with how to mobilize civilians 
in sufficient numbers and with the financial resources to 
make a PRT effective (reftel E). 
 
5. (C) Perhaps of greatest concern, outside the actual 
requirements of the deployment, is pervasive negative 
domestic public opinion:  recent polls show that 74 percent 
"dissatisfaction" with Polish participation in the mission, a 
number comparable to Iraq levels.  The GoP may calculate that 
opposition to the war is wide but not deep - but public 
opposition will likely intensify if (or more likely, when) 
things get ugly.  Hence the GoP sensitivity to casualties, 
and Prime Minister Tusk's August visit to Afghanistan after 
the deaths of three Polish soldiers by IED attack. 
 
6.  (C) FM Sikorski's personal engagement spearheads the GoP 
commitment.  Sikorski first traveled to Afghanistan as a 
journalist in 1987, and witnessed Soviet atrocities 
first-hand while embedded with the mujahedin.  There are 
unconfirmed stories, widely believed in Poland, that on at 
least one occasion Sikorski carried a gun and killed Soviet 
soldiers.  An impassioned and authoritative speaker on 
 
 
Afghanistan, Sikorski is not shy about offering policy 
prescriptions or even alternatives to President Karzai's 
leadership.  If Polish casualties mount in Afghanistan, 
Sikorski's ability to maintain GoP support for a high-profile 
military role will be tested. 
 
7.  (C)  Polish defense ministry officials tell us the U.S. 
can help the Polish war effort - and bolster Polish public 
opinion - through intelligence, logistical and material 
support.  All eight military deaths in Afghanistan were the 
result of IED's, so the GoP greatly appreciates the U.S. 
decision to lend Mine-Resistant Ambush Protectant (MRAP) 
vehicles.  In addition, the Poles have asked for Unmanned 
Aerial Vehicles (UAV's) like the Predator.  They also argue 
that their increasingly prominent leadership position within 
ISAF has earned them a seat on the ISAF Joint Coordination 
Management Board.  As of now, Polish troop levels narrowly 
miss the numerical criteria for Board membership, although 
qualitative contributions such as serving without caveats may 
merit renewed consideration. 
 
8.  (C)  The growing Polish engagement in Afghanistan is the 
riskiest move yet by a cautious Tusk government bent on 
preserving political capital for the 2010 presidential 
elections here.  The U.S. should do everything we can to 
mitigate that risk -- with support and encouragement, Poland 
can be one of our most energetic and dependable partners 
against the Taliban.  Despite the domestic opposition to the 
conflict, Poland's political leadership is determined to 
succeed.  In the government's view, the war effort has the 
strongest strategic rationale:  increasing Poland's and 
NATO's war-fighting capabilities will help manage Poland's 
greatest threat, an increasingly assertive Russia. 
ASHE