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FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8257
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 WARSAW 000466 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR, PM, H 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ORP RS PL CZ NATO
SUBJECT: POLISH DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER DISCUSSES MISSILE 
DEFENSE, PATRIOT BATTERY DEPLOYMENT AND NATO, US AND 
RUSSIAN RELATIONS DURING A MEETING WITH SENATOR LEVIN 
 
REF: WARSAW 375 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Ashe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  Poland,s Deputy Defense Minister, 
Stanislaw Komorowski, said the decision to host the Missile 
Defense (MD) site was not an easy one and they hoped it would 
be fulfilled.  Poland is counting on the Patriot deployment 
and he did not consider it a replacement for MD.  He 
expressed concern that slowing or abandoning MD risks NATO 
also slowing pursuit of improved air defense systems and, 
therefore, a reduction in overall Alliance security.  NATO 
resources are not evenly spread across the Alliance, 
therefore, her members are not equally protected.  Poland 
wants to be seen as a strong NATO Ally and any US or NATO 
investment in Poland is good for the entire Alliance. Poland 
desires an increased US presence on Polish soil as a means 
towards greater modernization and strategic cooperation.  The 
decision to host the MD site was not only pragmatic, but 
exemplified Poland,s willingness to support an Ally who 
asked, and desires to be seen as a valued, strategic security 
partner.  On Russia, Minister Komorowski thought Russia 
should be consulted and described the confidence-building 
measures they have offered.  At the same time, he was adamant 
that Russia not have veto power over what he considered to be 
bilateral US-Polish matters.  Ultimately, Minister Komorowski 
believed that fulfilling the political declaration agreed 
upon between the US and Poland, regardless of timeline, is 
the most important.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  (C)  Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) met with Deputy Defense 
Minister Stanislaw Komorowski on 16 April to discuss Missile 
Defense (MD) and the Polish perspective on the Patriot 
Battery. 
 
POLISH THINKING BEHIND MISSILE DEFENSE 
 
¶3.  (C)  Minister Komorowski said the decision to host the 
Missile Defense site in Poland was not an easy one, but one 
Poland gladly accepted.  They hope the MD commitment will be 
fulfilled. The two documents, the Ballistic Missile Defense 
Agreement and the Declaration of Strategic Cooperation were 
adopted simultaneously, although they were separate 
documents. Fulfilling the political declaration, regardless 
of timeline, is the most important.  Polish willingness to 
host the site symbolized the Polish way of thinking. 
Solidarity is deeply embedded into the Polish psyche and it 
is natural for Poles to find strength in numbers, strength 
gained through a common bond of like-minded people who share 
the same values of freedom and democracy.  Solidarity also 
means that Poles come to the aid of Allies and operate in 
good faith when an Ally requests support.  Poles are ready to 
defend others in NATO, not just herself.  Poles are always 
ready to make such decisions since they serve a greater 
purpose.  Polish cooperation on Missile Defense was seen not 
only as assisting an Ally in providing part of a system that 
would protect the US from a ballistic missile threat from 
Iran or elsewhere, but also as a means to help protect other 
NATO members.  It is a tangible sign of Article 5 of the 
Washington Treaty.  Although the Iranian threat might not be 
directed against Poland, the agreement to host the MD site 
fit into the three pillars of Polish security and defense 
policy:  membership in NATO, the EU and greater strategic 
cooperation with the US.  The Polish public was extremely 
pleased by the comments made by President Obama in Prague 
that acknowledged the courageous decisions by the Polish and 
Czech people to host MD elements. 
 
THE IMPACT OF ABANDONING MISSILE DEFENSE 
 
¶4.  (C)  Minister Komorowski believed it would be a setback 
for the NATO Alliance if MD were slowed or abandoned. 
Emphasizing that security cannot be taken for granted, he 
suggested that any slow-down, or an outright abandonment, of 
MD would slow down NATO,s pursuit of missile defense 
systems.  In light of Iran's desire to pursue its nuclear 
ambitions as a means to gain influence in the region, 
abandoning MD is a risk he believed nobody should be willing 
to take.  When asked by Senator Levin where the threats 
emanated from, Minister Komorowski said the greatest threats 
were unpredictable, thus the need for NATO to build an air 
defense system capable of defending against unpredictable 
threats. 
 
PATRIOT IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR MISSILE DEFENSE 
 
¶5.   (C)  Minister Komorowski does not consider the Patriot 
Battery to be a replacement for MD.  He considered Patriot 
 
WARSAW 00000466  002 OF 003 
 
 
and MD to be related to one another, yet separate.  The 
Polish public holds a very high opinion of the Patriot 
deployment to Poland as it's seen as one of the most 
important examples of US-Polish cooperation, US commitment to 
Polish security and modernization of the Polish Armed Forces. 
 The Battery is seen as a symbolic gesture of good will and 
an intention on the US side, in keeping with the Declaration 
of Strategic Cooperation signed by the two Nations, Foreign 
Ministers in August 2008, towards deeper cooperation, a 
larger US presence, and a tangible commitment to modernizing 
the Polish Air Defense systems.  He viewed the Patriot 
deployment as the beginning of a better Air Defense system 
for the entire NATO Alliance.  It also signals the beginning 
of a greater US presence on Polish soil and US intentions to 
develop the US-Polish relationship on a more strategic level 
over time. 
 
AMERICAN TROOPS WELCOME ON POLISH SOIL 
 
¶6.  (C)  Minister Komorowski described the other agreements 
working in parallel to the BMDA, such as those needed for the 
temporary Patriot Battery deployment and its eventual 
permanent garrison.  The SOFA Supplemental agreement is 
viewed as something necessary not just for MD, but to support 
American troops on Polish soil.  He believed the SOFA 
Supplemental would create a legal umbrella over US forces on 
Polish territory, enabling more to be stationed in Poland. 
Unlike Russian forces that were never invited onto Polish 
soil and never appreciated, Minister Komorowski described the 
Patriot deployment and garrison as a tangible, symbolic 
presence of friend who is both invited and appreciated. 
Poland,s membership in NATO engenders positive public 
opinion in Poland, and the US is the most appreciated of the 
NATO members. 
 
LET'S EXERCISE CAUTION WITH RUSSIA 
 
¶7.  (C)  Minister Komorowski said MD should be considered a 
common system, part of a NATO or possibly even a global 
system that would lead to cooperation among other countries. 
If Russia wanted to be part of that community, it would be a 
very positive sign.  Poland would welcome Russian involvement 
in creating Missile Defense solutions, with the understanding 
that the Russians would not have a say in the actual 
effectiveness of it.  Were they to have a say in the 
technical aspects of creating an MD system, one would have to 
question its reliability.  Russia is still an unpredictable 
neighbor as reflected by her invasion of Georgia so any 
reliance on them would be unwise.  If the Russian radar in 
Azerbaijan were to be used as part of a Missile Defense 
system, it should be used as part of a broader MD system and 
not as a substitute to the proposed Czech radar site. 
Consultation with Russia on MD matters would be okay, but 
they should not be allowed to hold veto power in a matter 
that was between the US and Poland, or multilateral among 
NATO members.  Poland has offered multiple 
confidence-building measures that Russia has neglected to 
seriously consider.  Komorowski believed Russia was using the 
notion of Missile Defense in Europe as a threat to the 
Russian people in order to maintain a certain level of fear 
among her own citizens.  This fear, in turn, would ensure the 
Russian citizens turned towards their current leadership to 
protect them, thus keeping them in power. 
 
TREAT US LIKE A STRATEGIC PARTNER 
 
¶8.  (C)  Minister Komorowski said it was a shame that after 
10 years as a NATO member, Poland is still referred to as a 
"new" NATO member.  He described the uneven spread of 
infrastructure (manpower, equipment and installations) across 
NATO, noting the lack of anything substantial in the way of 
infrastructure in Central Europe.  He believed that only a 
more even distribution of NATO resources across NATO would 
truly indicate that all NATO member states are equally 
protected.  Any growth of a US/NATO presence in Poland, as 
well as the modernization efforts, benefit the entire NATO 
alliance.  In the event of the need to invoke Article 5 of 
the Washington Treaty, the assets would be ready to be used 
in or to be deployed from Poland.  He said that Poland viewed 
Article 5 as the most important aspect of NATO membership. 
Furthermore, it is important for Poland to be seen as a 
strong NATO Ally.  Poland is doing more than others in the 
security and defense areas as exemplified in their EU and 
NATO commitments, as well as support to the US in Iraq. 
Everything Poland is undertaking in the security and defense 
field serves a twofold, common interest:  shared US-Polish 
security interests, as well as the broader security 
commitment to the international community. 
 
WARSAW 00000466  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶9.  (U)  CODEL Levin has cleared this message 
ASHE