...The Russians' harsh reaction to plans to install a missile defence
shield in Poland and the Czech
Republic provides yet more evidence that Moscow's policy has not
significantly changed for 500
years. Regardless of who its architect is - Ivan the Terrible, Joseph
Stalin or Vladimir Putin -
it is characterized by consistent imperialism. ...
...The Russians... are aware, after all, that it is precisely the Poles who
can
deconstruct the ideology of Russian colonialism, by pointing out that the
Kremlin, the master of
disinformation, conceals its imperial expansion while accusing the victim of
being the aggressor.
BBC Monitoring
Polish pundits see Russian "colonialism" behind opposition to US defence
shield
Source: Rzeczpospolita website, Warsaw, in Polish 23 Feb 07
The following is the text of an article by
Mariusz Muszynski, professor of law and adviser
to the Polish Foreign Ministry, and Krzysztof
Rak, international relations expert, entitled
"Moscow's postcolonial hiccup" and published on
the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita website on 23
February; subheadings are the newspaper's own:
Ever since Poland regained its independence in
the early 1990s, only one county has threatened
to target its missiles at our territory. That
country is Russia. It always does so when we want
to significantly improve our defence capabilities
- international relations experts write.
The Russians' harsh reaction to plans to install
a missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech
Republic provides yet more evidence that Moscow's
policy has not significantly changed for 500
years. Regardless of who its architect is - Ivan
the Terrible, Joseph Stalin or Vladimir Putin -
it is characterized by consistent imperialism.
One does not have to have any special knowledge
about combatting ballistic missiles to know that
the shield does not pose any real threat to
Russia. It can stop only several enemy missiles,
not hundreds or thousands as the Russian arsenals
possess. A real limitation of the Russian army's
nuclear force striking capacity would be possible
on condition that another idea - the Star Wars
programme - were to be made a reality. However,
that involves transferring the missile defence
system into space, and is for the time being a
futuristic dream. Poland's involvement in this
programme is more of a topic for science-fiction
authors than for politicians and military strategists.
Obstacle to empire
And so why is Moscow escalating its threats
towards Warsaw? Because the missile defence
shield boosts Poland's security agency the
potential threat from Russia. US troops will be
stationed on our soil. The presence of US bases
gives Poland better guarantees than the formal
support envisioned under Article 5 of the NATO
treaty. It is worth pointing out that this is not
about general abstract threats, as are being
painstakingly analysed by opponents of the shield.
Ever since Poland regained its independence in
the early 1990s, only one country has threatened
to target its missiles at our territory. That
country is Russia. It always does so when we want
to significantly improve our defence
capabilities. Why is a boost in Poland's security not in Moscow's interest?
A principle followed by countries within our
circle of civilization holds that it is in their
fundamental interests to ensure the stabilization
(and likewise the security) of their neighbouring
countries. The rulers of the Kremlin do not
recognize this principle, because they still
consider Central Europe to be their potential
sphere of influence. They are unable to reconcile
themselves with having lost to the Cold War
struggle in the late 1980s and early 1990s. To
put it concisely, Poland constitutes a
significant obstacle to Putin's policy of reanimating the empire.
Fairy tales for Western elites
The basic instrument of Russia's imperialism,
aside from its army, is disinformation. Moscow
immediately sounds the alarm and declares itself
to be a victim of aggression whenever a country
which has the misfortune of being located within
its potential sphere of influence attempts to
ensure its own security in a nonconfrontational
way. Russia, the most aggressive country in world
history over the past five centuries (if we are
to judge aggressiveness in terms of the size of
the territory seized as a consequence of military
conquests), consistently portrays itself as a
victim which is putting up with its militant
neighbours with excessive humility.
Most of the Western elites allow themselves to be
duped by such fairy tales. Many Western
intellectuals still believe that the guilt for
Poland's being swept off the world map in
1795-1918, the massacre of Prague and the murder
in Katyn rests with the Poles. The Russians know
very well what they are doing when propagating
this specific version of history. They are aware,
after all, that it is precisely the Poles who can
deconstruct the ideology of Russian colonialism,
by pointing out that the Kremlin, the master of
disinformation, conceals its imperial expansion
while accusing the victim of being the aggressor.
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