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DE RUEHWR #0695/01 1871458
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 061458Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8554
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
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RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000695 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CE (PIERANGELO, GLANTZ) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV OVIP OTRA PHUM RS PL
SUBJECT: CODEL NELSON: POLAND EXPECTS THE U.S. TO HONOR ITS 
COMMITMENTS 
 
¶1. (U) This message is SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- not for 
Internet distribution. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Poland expects the United States to honor 
commitments made in August 2008 agreements on Missile Defense 
(MD) and security cooperation.  Foreign policy advisors to 
President Kaczysnki and PM Tusk told Senator Ben Nelson 
(R-NE) that the U.S.-Polish relationship is important for 
Poland's security, noting that a U.S. military presence would 
bolster Article 5 guarantees and improve bilateral security 
cooperation.  While Presidential advisors expressed 
skepticism about efforts to reset U.S.-Russian relations, the 
head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery and the chair of the 
Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee expressed hope that improved 
relations would benefit Poland and dissipate the occasional 
aggressive statements from Russia.  Officials reiterated 
Poland's strong commitment to the ISAF mission in 
Afghanistan, stressing its importance for NATO's future.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. (SBU) During a June 28-30 visit to Warsaw, Senator Ben 
Nelson (R-NE) met with Aleksander Szczyglo, head of the 
President's National Security Office; Tomasz Arabski, head of 
the Prime Minister's Chancellery; and Andrzej Halicki, chair 
of the Sejm (lower house of parliament) Foreign Affairs 
Committee.  Senator Nelson's meeting with Foreign Minister 
Radoslaw Sikorski is reported septel. 
 
PRESIDENTIAL CHANCELLERY: MISSILE DEFENSE, AFGHANISTAN, AND 
NATO 
 
¶4. (SBU) Aleksander Szczyglo, head of the President's 
National Security Office, told Senator Nelson that the 
U.S.-Polish relationship is the "most important" for Poland's 
security.  He stressed President Kaczynski's strong interest 
in seeing Missile Defense (MD) move forward.  Asked for an 
assessment of the current state of play, Senator Nelson 
explained that President Obama had ordered a review of the MD 
project, which does not necessarily mean rejection, just 
reconsideration.  Nelson stated that the U.S. decision would 
depend to a large degree on the outcome of Czech elections in 
September.  He said that the reductions for European MD 
reflected in the FY10 budget are not indicative of future 
plans with regard to MD. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Szczyglo stated that giving up the MD project would 
be "unwise" given Iran and North Korea's ongoing efforts to 
develop nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.  While 
Russian opposition to MD is an important consideration, 
Moscow knows the project does not pose an offensive threat 
and would be no match for Russian ICBMs.  A U.S. installation 
in Poland would mean an increase in U.S. and NATO commitment 
to Poland's defense, he argued.  "If even one U.S. soldier is 
threatened, we know you will send in an entire division," he 
said.  In contrast, because not all NATO members interpret 
Article 5 literally, guarantees on paper alone are not 
sufficient to ease Polish concerns about "resurgent Russian 
imperialism."  Nelson told Szczyglo most Americans are well 
aware of Poland's concerns about Russia's history of 
aggression, but said it was important to have civil relations 
with Russia without sacrificing interests.  He stressed the 
U.S. commitment to Article 5 guarantees and said that the 
U.S. would continue to support Polish defense modernization, 
especially as Poland completes its transition to an 
all-volunteer force.  A Polish military that is highly 
trained and well equipped would help to guarantee that NATO 
functions effectively.  Turning to Patriots, Nelson expressed 
hope that the process would quickly move from negotiations to 
a final decision.  . 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Szczyglo welcomed Nelson's expression of U.S. 
gratitude for Poland's contributions in Afghanistan.  He said 
that the ISAF mission is particularly important because of 
its impact on NATO's operating model.  Szczyglo and Nelson 
agreed that the primary problem is not with the number of 
troops, but with caveats placed on troop activity by some 
NATO members.  Poland refuses to accept the tenet that some 
countries are permitted to contribute resources in lieu of 
fighting and vice versa, Szczyglo said.  Szczyglo and Nelson 
agreed on the need to keep the door to NATO open for Georgia 
and Ukraine.  Even the newest and smallest members should be 
expected to carry their own weight.  Nelson suggested that 
NATO should identify how smaller and newer members might 
participate most effectively and then encourage those members 
to modernize and pursue specialization accordingly. 
 
WARSAW 00000695  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
PM'S CHANCELLERY: NO RE-INTERPRETATION OF MD COMMITMENTS 
 
¶7. (SBU) Tomasz Arabski, Chief of the Prime Minister's 
Chancellery, emphasized the importance that Poland attached 
to last year's agreements on MD and security cooperation.  He 
acknowledged that it was "natural" for a new presidential 
administration to review the MD program, but he stressed that 
Poland expected the commitments embodied in last year's 
agreements to be honored "in the spirit in which they were 
concluded."  For its part, Poland remained flexible and was 
prepared to meet its MD obligations -- bilaterally with the 
U.S., within a NATO framework, or even with Russian 
participation -- but Warsaw would not appreciate a 
"re-interpretation" of commitments as agreed last year. 
Infrastructure improvements were already taking place near 
Slupsk, the proposed MD site. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Arabski said the upcoming U.S.-Russia summit in 
Moscow was a new opportunity to improve bilateral relations. 
Such a development would benefit Poland and dissipate the 
occasional aggressive statements from Russia.  Arabski 
explained, however, that Russia was not the only "eastern 
neighbor" that concerned Poland.  Pointing to the 
Russia-Ukraine gas dispute earlier this year as an example, 
he asserted that Poland could face a number of unstable 
scenarios in the future.  Deployment of a permanent Patriot 
battery would improve Polish air defense capabilities but, 
more importantly, signal to others that Poland was serious 
about defending itself.  Patriots would also solidify already 
excellent U.S.-Polish relations, although Arabski remarked 
that the U.S. had offered Patriots to the United Arab 
Emirates at a lower price than initially quoted to Poland. 
 
SEJM: MISSILE DEFENSE, RUSSIA, VISAS 
 
¶9. (SBU) Andrzej Halicki, newly appointed Chair of the Sejm 
Foreign Affairs Committee, lauded the excellent state of 
U.S.-Polish relations but said it was necessary to build a 
strong security relationship as well.  In this context, the 
agreements concluded with the U.S. last August on MD and 
security cooperation were politically and militarily 
significant for Warsaw.  He welcomed the reference to Poland 
and the Czech Republic in President Obama's April 4 arms 
control speech in Prague and hoped that increased cooperation 
between the U.S. and Russia would lead eventually to a 
mitigation of the potential nuclear threat posed by Iran.  To 
this end, it was important for all NATO allies to speak with 
a single voice.  Halicki also hoped that improved dialogue 
with Moscow would moderate Russia's aggressive tendencies and 
contribute to a more secure regional environment. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Halicki highlighted Poland's increasing role in 
fighting terrorism, especially in Afghanistan, where PM Tusk 
had almost doubled the Polish contingent.  Poland was also in 
the forefront among NATO allies in defense spending and 
military modernization.  Turning to non-security issues, 
Halicki maintained that Poland would do its best to meet U.S. 
criteria to allow for visa-free travel by Poles in the 
future, but he was concerned that the imminent expiration of 
the 10 percent refusal threshold under the Visa Waiver 
Program might have a negative impact on relations. 
 
¶11. (U) CODEL Nelson has cleared this message. 
ASHE