The Polish Ambassador in Iraq, Gen. Edward Pietrzyk, was wounded today after two bombs exploded when he was being driven in Baghdad, outside of the ‘Green Zone’.
His driver – a member of the Polish government protection service – was killed in the attack and nearly a dozen others were hurt.
Poles have had just over 20 people killed so far in Iraq since they became part of the occupying forces there. So every death or injury is felt strongly here. There has never been a majority of public opinion for Poland’s involvement in Iraq and every incident is accompanied by calls for more troops to be withdrawn.
But government spokesman, Marek Kuchciński, made sure that Washington would never be disappointed in Poland. He said today:
“Such a decision would make the terrorists stronger and would let them expand their activity. No government should ever take even one step back in the battle with terrorists. “
But how did he know that the Polish Ambassador was attacked by ‘terrorists’?
Blackwater and Poles in Iraq
Minutes after the blast which injured the Ambassador, AP reported that:
I bet they have. Last week Blackwater was – briefly - prohibited from working in the country after an incident where they shot up Iraqi civilians. Blackwater are very unpopular in Iraq.
But the ban didn’t last long. It’s thought that pressure from Washington was put on the hapless Iraqi government to keep allowing these firms to operate.
Mercenary firms play an essential role in the occupation, and will be even more important in the future. As troop numbers are reduced for political reasons, they can still increase the number of Blackwater employees and the 30,000 other…well, ‘dogs of war’, is what they used to call them.
And it’s not just Americans who make up the Blackwater workforce. Ex-army Poles have been working for Blackwater in Iraq. In 2004, two former Polish GROM officers (the Polish equivalent of the SAS) were killed after an attack by, the now dead, Abu Musab al-Zarkawi and his al-Qaeda type gang of cross-state Inslamists.
Zarkawi, from Jordon, was, for sure, a ‘terrorist’ – putting bombs in the middle of crowds of civilians was a regular trick of his. But how can the government spokesman, Kuchcinski, know who was behind the attack on the Ambassador today?
Poles are a target in Iraq because they are part of the occupation. And occupations do, I am afraid, get bombs lobbed at them quite often by those who do not want them in their country.
The status of the occupation is made all the more transparent – and resented - by the existence of Blackwater and their ilk. If Iraqis cannot arrest and try these people for crimes against Iraqis - which they cannot - then Iraqi sovereignty is a mirage.
See video of aftermath of attack here and here..
His driver – a member of the Polish government protection service – was killed in the attack and nearly a dozen others were hurt.
Poles have had just over 20 people killed so far in Iraq since they became part of the occupying forces there. So every death or injury is felt strongly here. There has never been a majority of public opinion for Poland’s involvement in Iraq and every incident is accompanied by calls for more troops to be withdrawn.
But government spokesman, Marek Kuchciński, made sure that Washington would never be disappointed in Poland. He said today:
“Such a decision would make the terrorists stronger and would let them expand their activity. No government should ever take even one step back in the battle with terrorists. “
But how did he know that the Polish Ambassador was attacked by ‘terrorists’?
Blackwater and Poles in Iraq
Minutes after the blast which injured the Ambassador, AP reported that:
U.S. Army and Iraqi troops sealed off al-Arasaat street where the attack took place. "Little Bird" helicopters, the type used by Blackwater USA, were seen flying above the bombing site, although it was not immediately known what role, if any, the North Carolina-based company has in providing security for the Polish diplomat. An unidentified wounded man [now thought to be the Polish diplomat] with bandaged head, leg and hands was seen walking toward one of the choppers…
U.S. authorities confiscated an AP Television News videotape that contained scenes of the wounded being evacuated. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl told the AP the government of Iraq had made it illegal to photograph or videotape the aftermath of bombings or other attacks.
I bet they have. Last week Blackwater was – briefly - prohibited from working in the country after an incident where they shot up Iraqi civilians. Blackwater are very unpopular in Iraq.
But the ban didn’t last long. It’s thought that pressure from Washington was put on the hapless Iraqi government to keep allowing these firms to operate.
Mercenary firms play an essential role in the occupation, and will be even more important in the future. As troop numbers are reduced for political reasons, they can still increase the number of Blackwater employees and the 30,000 other…well, ‘dogs of war’, is what they used to call them.
And it’s not just Americans who make up the Blackwater workforce. Ex-army Poles have been working for Blackwater in Iraq. In 2004, two former Polish GROM officers (the Polish equivalent of the SAS) were killed after an attack by, the now dead, Abu Musab al-Zarkawi and his al-Qaeda type gang of cross-state Inslamists.
Zarkawi, from Jordon, was, for sure, a ‘terrorist’ – putting bombs in the middle of crowds of civilians was a regular trick of his. But how can the government spokesman, Kuchcinski, know who was behind the attack on the Ambassador today?
Poles are a target in Iraq because they are part of the occupation. And occupations do, I am afraid, get bombs lobbed at them quite often by those who do not want them in their country.
The status of the occupation is made all the more transparent – and resented - by the existence of Blackwater and their ilk. If Iraqis cannot arrest and try these people for crimes against Iraqis - which they cannot - then Iraqi sovereignty is a mirage.
See video of aftermath of attack here and here..
36 comments:
"the Iraqi embassy"
There's an Iraqi embassy in Baghdad?
Damn, things must be worse there than I thought.
Yeah...embassy is not the word I was looking for...maybe consulate?
I changed the text
-terrorists kill ambassadors
-people who do not want to be occupied kill occupants.
IS IT CLEAR ENOUGH DEAR BEATROOT ;) ?
Whether the ambassador was killed along with fifty Polish boy scouts and CNN did a close up of their mutilated bodies it would irrelevant to the overriding needs of Poland’s geostrategic position.
Debating the virtues of American involvement in Iraq is irrelevant to Poland’s interests whether it’s Iraq or Haiti it doesn’t matter.
A country incapable of mounting any sort of credible self-defence must curry the favour of a super-power in order ensures its security. Even if one can’t guarantee that this insurance policy would ever be honoured by the super-power.
To put any faith in fraudulent defence agreements with unreliable European allies some of them are not even reconciled to the existence of a Polish state must border on criminal negligence.
Poland’s position is not unique see Australia’s policy in offering military support to various American adventures.
Blackwater is a cost effective and flexible way of doing something, without them the US cannot carry on in Iraq, so bet on business as usual. By the way the US army has killed more civilians who got in the way than Blackwater ever did perhaps you would like to sub-contract the whole war.
Every government has carried out the same consistent policy with respect to US calls for support since the end of the PRL, the three main parties holding currently 70% plus of voter support will continue with this policy.
So lets not get too tearful about a few dozen dead since screwing up Poland’s geostrategic position will have a much higher price.
It’s seems typical of the leftist liberal mentality to complain about this policy but yet not offer a workable alternative. Here is a workable alternative, pay for a credible self-defence capability. This of course would have to be done at the cost of reconstructing the economy and any hope of improving living standards.
No free lunches in the real world!
terrorists kill ambassadors
-people who do not want to be occupied kill occupants.
SORRY BUT THAT IS NOT CLEAR ENOUGH FOR ME.
In an occupying situation, a diplomat will be a target. And I do not believe that the Iraqi government has freedom to do what it wants. The Blackwater example shows this clearly.
Poland has been open in that it got involved in Iraq for oil contracts. Sadly, these oil contracts, which have not materialized, will have a price tag...
Occupation? That would assume that the Iraqi government is a puppet regime. I am not saying it isn't, but one follows from the other and as there was an election as far as i recall then does this all add up? If the elected government of Iraq wishes the forces to remain then it is reasonable to assume it is not an occupation.
As for PMC's, well they are simply cost effective as one of the posts said earlier.
"So every death or injury is felt strongly here."
Err....
Not quite. Sometimes injuries are more important and if you look at Dziennik's web page now they are leading with a story about an old man who died peacefully a year or two ago.
Is an election under occupation valid? And do the Iraqi government have control over all troops in their territory? And are all troops in Iraq answerable to Iraqi law?
If the answer is no to any of those questions then it is an oppupation.
Henry
Already there are calls for a debate (sometime 'after the election') about the presense of troops in Iraq. The PM had to rush out a statement saying that the attack will not affect the timetable for withdrawl.
And this because an Ambassador had been not too badly wounded.
If that happened everytime an American or Brit got wounded in Iraq the politicians would be talking of nothing else...ever.
So you see how sensitive Poles are to this kind of thing...
Iraq is not a real country in the true sense of a nation or has it ever enjoyed a single day of freedom and rule of law in its entire history. The League of Nations granted the area to the United Kingdom as a mandate in the 1920’s, which created artificial boundaries defining Iraq without regard to history, ethnicity or religion. Since then a rather pathetic history of monarchies, occupations and dictatorships. The people have neither the capacity nor inclination to sustain a democracy in a western sense. Whether they are being slaughtered by a homegrown dictator or occupation troops is rather academic. After the start of the occupation the civilian population has had to suffer death and destruction at the hands of their fellow Iraqis and comparatively little from the occupation forces. When the US decides to leave, as it will, the real blood bath will begin and probably set new standards of inhumanly in the Middle East. In the up coming American election a Democrat being elected President is almost a certainty and can be expected to try to walk away from the mess, just watch for the Saudi Arabian reaction.
Fewer Polish soldiers have died but I see no reason to assume that Poles have a lower (or higher) tolerance of the death of their citizens in Iraq than Britons or Americans. This will blow over quickly. Calls for a debate "some time after the election" will be ignored. Poles will be withdrawn from Iraq when America says so.
Polish casualties in Iraq will remind little more than a political nuisance to the Poland’s leaders. With the current rate of deaths there is no serious problem since no draftees are sent to Iraq, all soldiers are volunteers. There is also no organized anti-war movement but rather the political fringe championing the anti-war theme. Poland will leave Iraq at a moment of it’s own choosing which will likely be at the same time the first major withdrawal of US troops occurs. The outcome of Iraq is irrelevant to Poland what’s important is to have been seen as the “reliable ally” that didn’t desert the US.
Bearing in mind that the mail may have Traitors in its midst and this might be a Govt or EU set up...
The mail shouldn't have to stoop so low...
Think about it, what Do our Media Show month after Month after Month....Ian Huntley, Fred West, Beverly Allet, the Dunblane Massacre, the Black Panther Murders, the Stephen Lawrence Murder, Dr Shipman Peter Sutcliffe, Damiola Taylor, Chris Langham, MichaelBarrymore, the Guy in the Portugal Maddelaine case, Notice the Link...that's right, ALL AngloSaxon British Murderers, that's all our Govt and Press report.
Here's the Mets 12 Most wanted list..Remember I didn't compile this list, the Police did
http://www.met.police.uk/wanted/
Here's their 15 Most wanted
http://www.met.police.uk/wanted/othercases.htm
Here's west Midlands most wanted.
http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/wanted/index.asp
Yet More.
http://iamanenglishman.com/rogues_gallery.php
We never see these in our National News Either.
http://newnation.org/NNN-UK-Europe.html
More Victims of Our Govt's Hidden Genocidal agenda Against Britain and the British..
http://thefallenlist.blogspot.com/
Only Indigenous Brits are Murderers.(we are told by our State Media/Press and Govt )
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2666401.ece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6753695.stm
This problem cannot be solved by hiding it, so email these links to your close friends collegues and relatives, asking them to do the same.
The Public are confused by the Govt Media & kept in the dark about what is really going on.
We can't solve this until YOU WAKE THEM UP....Do your Duty for Britain.
jannovak,
A country incapable of mounting any sort of credible self-defence must curry the favour of a super-power in order ensures its security. Even if one can’t guarantee that this insurance policy would ever be honoured by the super-power.
I think that this policy is best summarized in this video.
Poland’s position is not unique see Australia’s policy in offering military support to various American adventures.
What are you smoking there?
Care to enlighten me, how is U.S. going to help Poland if Russia uses its newest strategic weapon, i.e. gas pipelines? Will the U.S. start airlifting gas containers to Poland? Ironically, Kaczynski's current efforts to disarm this weapon base on the dreaded EU structures!
The only viable was of ensuring sovereignity of Polish state is alignment with EU countries. That, and nuclear weapons.
I have got a little confused where this thread has been going, but I will try and keep up.
But classically, it became a nation in its opposition to colonialist rule. And then came along secular Arab nationalism. That turned into a nasty dictatorship, and became part of the Cold War.
Cold War ended, so did that kind of politics. Then came the rise of Islamism, which wanted to get rid of these secular nationalist regimes.
Enter Bush and Blair …who smashed up what civil society there was. It fragments into its three parts (with many sub divisions) and Islamists enter the picture, further fragmenting any national sentiments there were.
And here we are today. A broken country. The invasion and occupation was a major part of that.
When will they ever learn that the only way to liberate a people is for them to liberate themselves. I think you being Polish should understand that.
opamp said...” current efforts to disarm this weapon base on the dreaded EU structures! “
Obviously your smoking better dope then I am. If you think it’s wise to bet the countries survival on the EU, has it escaped you that the shortest book in Europe is a catalogue of instances where Europe showed resolve in matters of foreign policy and defence?
If you want to knock on that door …… there’s nobody home!
When it came to Nato the deal Poland got was not the one Germany had, under international agreements currently in force Poland may not have more then token military forces (Nato) stationed on it’s territory. Our European “allies “ knew full well that the collective defence agreement Poland got wasn’t worth the toilet paper they wrote it on.
Since entry into Nato our largest European (Nato) partner has taken action against the security interests of Poland. So far the nearest thing to firing shots at Poland has come from our so-called allies.
The government has been proactive in preparing for the day the Russians cut off the fuel supply by finding and preparing to handle alternative supply sources. This is being done with little help from the EU.
Did you notice when Estonia got into a push and shove with the Russians the rush of old Europe to come to their aid. These bastards didn’t even have the balls to name the Russians as the perpetrators.
I will go along with your comment on nuclear weapons however I don’t see what extreme condition would trigger that solution short of Moscow showing clear intent to eliminate the Polish state.
beatroot said...” Enter Bush and Blair …who smashed up what civil society there was”
Obviously there was not much of a civil society there in the first place. The American ignored tribal society dismantled the military and security services only to find there was nothing left. They might as well have placed a welcome Islamists sign up.
It wasn’t about liberating the Iraqis it was about establishing a destabilizing presence in the area that would shake up the Syrians and Iranians as well as reducing the importance of Saudi Arabia’s position. And of course the Iraqi oil.
However as we have seen the screwed up the aftermath to the invasion which demolished any potential for an outcome that would be favourable to the US. All that remains is the exit and it consequences, all very bad for the US.
Obviously there was not much of a civil society there in the first place.
In the early to mid 1990s I worked in a university where half the maths department was made up of Iraqi refugees.
Brilliant people – one was on Saddam’s nuclear bomb research in the 1980s (when he thought he was capable of such a program. But after the Iraq-Iran war, the country was economically in trouble and research was all but abandoned and many of the scientists were accused of being political opponents because of their ‘slow’ research).
One of them came to the university I worked in.
The Iraq you describe – ‘no civil society’ - does not chime with how those Iraqis describe their estranged home. There was a nasty dictatorship, but life went along OK. There were not the divisions on religious lines that you see now. Neither Wakim or Hassan mentioned Shia or Sunni for instance (and they were both from either side) as a significant division. It was more about ‘pro-Saddam’ and ‘anti…’
So I think we get a very distorted picture of how Iraqi people used to be. The Kurds were always different. But the Sunni Shia thing has developed since the first Gulf war and intensified in the last few years since the occupation – which has worsened it, greatly.
beatroot said...” where half the maths department was made up of Iraqi refugees. “
The fact that there are educated people in a society does not suggest the presence of civil society. Josef Stalin’s Soviet Union, Castro’s Cuba and North Korea all have engineers, nuclear physicist and mathematicians. But cannot meet the definition of a civil society.
There are many definitions of civil society and here is a portion of a definition:
“Civil society refers to the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, family and market, though in practice, the boundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often complex, blurred and negotiated. Civil society commonly embraces a diversity of spaces, actors and institutional forms, varying in their degree of formality, autonomy and power.”……………………………………..London School of Economics
Saddam Hussein’s Iraq like the three examples above did not tolerate such forms of association yet included significant numbers of educated people. Iraq ironically was known in the Middle East for its educated population and it was often said that “books were published in Egypt and Lebanon but read in Iraq.”
beatroot said.. “There were not the divisions on religious lines that you see now”
The Sunnis have been trampling on the rights of the Shiites going back all the way to the Ottoman Turks. It didn’t help when the British Empire installed a Sunni monarchy and placed Sunni army officers in positions of power. The Sunnis holding power in government was a condition that remained for 80 years. When you look at the turmoil of Iraqi politics the Shiites were non-participants until after the fall of Saddam. Yet the Shiites are the majority population.
So whatever the Americans destroyed, it was not civil society.
"Blackwater is a cost effective and flexible way of doing something"
Ha, ha, ha, ha... [break for breath] ha, ha, ha...
As an American citizen aware of what is going on in Washington, DC let me give you a hint... there is nothing cost effective about Blackwater and there never was... Blackwater isn't there to save me money. The military would have been cheaper and less loud (read: more flexible) anyway you look at it... Military is accountable financially and physically to the Congress (in the long run)... Blackwater is not.
And it doesn't matter who wins the next election (even if the entire House and Senate goes back to Republicans) - we are outta there either way. It is a definitely done deal, set in stone, etc., etc.... The only issue left to consider is logistics...
So whatever skills your combined governments have use them well to fix what we f..ed up. Iraq is closer to you than it is to us. And we're done. And nothing is going to change that. And I am really encouraged that some of you think the civil society in Iraq is not worse than it was under Hussein. :D 'Cos I am pretty sure you will need that society to... you know... fix stuff... Good luck, eh?
P.S.: Cool blog... I traveled here via some Polish sites... Refreshing... after the Polish sites... ;o)
A little update on the ambassador-general-arms deal broker. He has now been brought back to Poland via Ramstein air base in Germany. According to the head of Gryfice hospital, Andrzej Krajewski, his health status is serious and he has had to go on respirator. He has burns to the upper airway region and according to news reports tonight suffered 20% burns to his body.
http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/Wiadomosci/1,80269,4553503.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/06/europe/EU-GEN-Poland-Iraq-Ambassador.php
Meanwhile, the funeral of his bodyguard, Bartosz Orzechowski, took place earlier today.
President Lech Kaczynski was present.
The deceased 29 year old Pole has been awarded Poland's highest decoration, the 'Order of the White Eagle' (Krzyżem Komandorskim Orderu Krzyża Wojskowego)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_White_Eagle
Beatroot,
how did he know that the Polish Ambassador was attacked by ‘terrorists’?
You are absolutely right. We are all jumping to conclusions here. It's perfectly possible that the Salvation Army was behind the attack. Or maybe Fijian separatists. An attack by Buddhist monks from Sikkim cannot be ruled out neither.
Please. It was in Baghdad. So they were certainly Islamic terrorists. Maybe Al Qaeda. Maybe Sunni Baathists. Or maybe Mahdi Army's Shiites. But certainly Muslim terrorists.
Did they bomb from a distance a village with women and children in it to get at the ambassador?
The government has been proactive in preparing for the day the Russians cut off the fuel supply by finding and preparing to handle alternative supply sources.
Oh, like from where?
We've had nothing but talk on the subject. For example, PiS pledged to start importing liquified natural gas -- except that they overlooked that we have no ships, and the shipyards building them are booked years in advance. Not to mention that all the world production of LNG is also booked years in advance. Oops.
The last successfull attempt at finding "alternative supply sources" was done by that old commie Gierek, who built the oil terminal and refinery in Gdynia. Sweet irony, eh?
This is being done with little help from the EU.
In case you didn't notice, the Polish diplomacy is pushing for establishing of EU-wide energy policy, which would effectively prevent Russia from using gas as a strategic leverage. At present they can effectively threaten single countries, but they would not have that good chances against all of the EU. A minor success on this front is the currently boiling legislation that would prevent the Russians from owning the gas distribution networks in the EU.
Besides, I cannot imagine US risking confrontation with another nuclear superpower over a resourceless piece of land in Central Europe. So much for the Polish-American alliance.
Poland has gone from one puppetmaster(Russia) to another(United States)since the fall of communism. When will puppet Poland learn to cut the strings by saying no to unnecessary missile bases and dumb wars.
Hi Allexa!
Allexa said “As an American aware of what’s going on in Washington”
First of all that would make you a member of an extraordinarily tiny minority but more likely you belong to a larger group, another American liberal true to form, who just can’t get it right.
Blackwater is a team of military and law enforcement veterans that conducts defensive missions and currently has no Department of Defence contracts in Iraq.
Of the approximately 100,000 contractors only between one and two thousand is part of Blackwater. The 100,000 figure is an estimate of the total number of contractors in Iraq for all companies, including dishwashers, food servers, and drivers etc., the majority of which are Iraqi nationals.
Every one of the contracts was based on Blackwater’s merits and capability to do the job. No-bid contracts result from urgent and compelling needs of the U.S. Government; not political connections. A few contracts that were not bid, but more than 90% of contracts are via competitive bidding.
Blackwater is accountable under the U.S. Constitution, international treaties, U.S. regulations; defence trade controls acts and numerous U.S. statutes. Specifically, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) applies to contractors accompanying the total force and the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) creates jurisdiction for federal court trials. Any wrongdoing is covered under statutes such as the War Crimes Act, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, the Anti-Torture Statute, the Defence Base Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and many other domestic and international regulations. Blackwater advocates stricter enforcement of existing laws.
No one who Blackwater has protected has ever been killed or seriously injured.
Hej Janek,
Wanna buy a bridge?
I guess Blackwater has no concern with protecting its own employees, at least two of whom, now dead, were Polish:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Blackwater
And this is just the most recent incident that we know about:
2007: The killing of five Blackwater employees in central Baghdad
On the morning of Tuesday, January 23, 2007, a helicopter owned by Blackwater crashed in "the heavily Sunni Fadhil neighborhood in north-central Baghdad [on the east side of the Tigris River], where witnesses reported clashes between insurgents and U.S. and Iraqi forces," the Associated Press reported.[14] According to a U.S. military official, "five civilians were killed". A "senior Iraqi defense official said the aircraft was shot down" by "a gunman with a PKC machine gun."
Blackwater "confirmed the five men were employed by the North Carolina-based company as security professionals."[15]
"Although accounts varied, all were consistent that at least one person operating the aircraft had been shot and badly hurt before the crash," the Associated Press reported January 23, 2007.[15]
On Wednesday, January 24, 2007, the Associated Press reported[14] that U.S. and Iraqi officials said that four of the five Blackwater employees were "shot execution style in the back the head." A senior U.S. Department of Defense official said that it was unknown whether the four were alive when shot."
Although a "senior Iraqi military official said a machine gunner downed the helicopter,... a U.S. military official in Washington said there were no indications that the aircraft, owned by Blackwater USA, had been shot out of the sky. Two Sunni insurgent groups, separately, claimed responsibility for the crash."[14]
"The helicopter was shot down after responding to assist a U.S. Embassy ground convoy that came under fire in a Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad, said a U.S. diplomatic official in Washington. ... The doomed helicopter swooped into electrical wires before the crash. U.S. officials said it was not clear if gunfire brought the aircraft down or caused its pilot to veer into the wires during evasive manuevers."[14]
"A second helicopter also was struck, but there were no casualties among its crew, said the diplomatic official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to make statements."[14]
"Before Tuesday's crash, at least 22 employees of Blackwater Security Consultants or Blackwater USA had died in Iraq as a result of war-related violence, according to the Web site iCasualties.org, which tracks foreign troop fatalities in Iraq. Of those, 20 were Americans, and two were Polish," the Associated Press reported.[16]
[
geez said...” I guess Blackwater has no concern with protecting its own employees, at least two of whom, now dead, were Polish:”
Blackwater is in the bodyguard business in a war zone, of course they’re going to take casualties. Do you believe their Polish employees didn’t understand the danger they were in undertaking this line of work? They freely undertook to do this work.
So what’s your problem with this?
opamp said...”Oh, like from where?”
On the open market!
The LNG terminal project is expected to have a capacity of 5 to 7 billion cubic meters; Poland produces 5.90 billion cubic meters and has a total consumption of 16 billion cubic meters (2004). This leaves only 25% of the natural gas under treat from the KGB Colonel.
It is correct to say that the majority of LNG contracts are long-term commitments involving 20 to 25 year periods. However the spot market or short-term contract business has been expanding. In 2004 they sold 400 billion cubic meters in this market place, Poland would require 1.5% of the spot market portion of this commodity. Such a tiny purchase would not even affect the market place.
In 2004 there were 151 LNG tankers in operation and another 55 under construction so transport may also be possible. A portion of those operating and those being built are not committed to a specific contract.
When it became clear the Soviets were unable to deliver the Poland the needed oil Gierek took action to get the difference on the open market i.e. OPEC. This only goes to show us the Russians were unreliable as an ally and are equally unreliable as an enemy. Whether during that period the Soviets were actually unable to meet the required oil deliveries to Poland because of production difficulties or were simply looting the Polish economy without any compensation is anybodies guess.
This of courses raises the issue of Poland’s economic rape by the Soviet Union and Russia’s obligation as the successor state for reparations and compensation.
The EU needs to demonstrate their commitment to Poland before we can trust them to act in our interest; so far we have no reason for optimism.
Janek:
The problem is with your statement (among others about Blackwater):
"No one who Blackwater has protected has ever been killed or seriously injured."
The LNG terminal project is expected
Which is the main problem here. It is expected. So is (was) the Norwegian pipeline. Many other things are expected. Nothing is done.
Commies could at least build stuff. Present authorities excel at demonstrating that the stuff should not be built, because it is economically unsound. (I mean, it is two years. If they really wanted to build this terminal, they should have been digging there by now!).
The EU needs to demonstrate their commitment to Poland before we can trust them to act in our interest;
Of course. But what did the US do to demonstrate its commitment to Poland (selling the F-16 scrap metal does not count)?
There is no factual basis to assume that the US is a more trustworthy ally than the EU. There is even good evidence suggesting otherwise (*cough* visas *cough*).
geez said... The problem is with your statement (among others about Blackwater):
"No one who Blackwater has protected has ever been killed or seriously injured.
----------------------------------
If you feel that is incorrect, please name the individuals who were killed or seriously injured while Blackwater had been contracted to provide them protection services.
Obviously Blackwater employees don’t count as in the same fashion of a writer, one expects to consume pencils in the course of creating literature.
opamp said...” It is expected”
The idea that an LNG terminal can go from proposal to ground breaking in 24 months is not realistic. It would have required the previous administration to start the process.
Forget the Visa nonsense there Poland is being treated like anyone else when the per capita income changes in Poland to the level the US uses for visa free travel then and only then will it change.
I would like to put my faith in the EU as our final guarantor of security, military and economic since it would greatly simplify Poland’s position. I should point out that the EU has done a piss poor sales job on this point or nobodies got religion on this point. I need remind you that the three main political contenders in Poland SLD, PO and PiS have all followed Atlantisist policies and all viewed the EU as a secondary source for Poland’s security needs. If the EU is unable to convince the political elites of three different political parties supposedly representing more than 70% of public opinion then there is something genuinely wrong with EU credibility.
The EU is still a work in progress and has not reached a stage of development that would justify entrusting security issues to it.
Well, as long as employees don't count... other than as consumable supplies, not that much different than pencils to a writer.
What a sad fucking pathetic mother fucking outlook.
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