[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 22525-22526]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF POLAND'S SUCCESSION TO NATO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, September 1, 2009, and September 17, 2009, 
mark the 70th anniversary of Poland's invasion on the west by Nazi 
Germany and on the east 3 weeks later by the Soviet Red Army. It 
triggered the start

[[Page 22526]]

of World War II. World War II began with the invasion of Poland.
  Poland suffered the loss of more citizens, percentage-wise, during 
that war--over 20 percent of its people--under domination by the Nazis 
and Communists than any other nation. You would think that to mark 
these historically important and solemn occasions on this 70th 
anniversary our Congress and our President would have passed a 
commemoration supporting Poland's struggle for liberty and its recent 
democratic advances. You would think that our Nation, a nation that 
owes so much to Poland for inspiring our own struggle for freedom at 
our Nation's founding, and to its great generals, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, 
chief engineer of our Continental Army, and Casimir Pulaski, who saved 
the life of General George Washington, that we would have risen to 
praise the 10th anniversary of Poland's succession to NATO and its 
support of our current military engagements in the war on terror.

                              {time}  1300

  This year Poland will mark one decade as a signatory of NATO, the 
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an intrinsic part of the United 
States' strategic foreign policy. September 17 should have been a 
reverent commemoration of an extraordinary effort that cost so many 
lives but seeded and bequeathed a powerful sense of freedom and 
democracy inside the Nation of Poland that ultimately yielded 
solidarity and strikes that began in 1956 until the final solidarity 
victory in 1989 and the collapse of the Berlin Wall. September 17 
should be a day that commends the valiant people of Poland for their 
historic struggle against fascism and communism and commemorates the 
sacrifices made by the Polish people, including those who have since 
become American citizens.
  On that day, our President should have called for strength and 
partnership in the NATO organization, North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization, European Union alliances, and continued friendship with 
our Polish allies in the furtherance of freedom's cause. We should have 
honored the historic ties that our two great nations have fashioned 
over two centuries.
  Instead, on September 17, on the very anniversary date of the heinous 
Communist invasion of Poland, our government and the Obama 
administration chose to withdraw support of the proposed antiballistic 
missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. Whatever one's views 
of the merits or demerits of that defensive system, the choice of that 
date to announce this historic withdrawal is truly an insult to the 
Nation of Poland and to the people of Poland. Our Nation not only owes 
Poland an apology, we owe her affirmative support.
  The United States has had diplomatic relations with this region since 
they were first established in April 1919--after having been wiped off 
the maps of Europe for over a century--with the then-newly formed 
Polish Republic, while the two nations have enjoyed consistently warm 
bilateral relations since 1989. The Polish Government has been a strong 
supporter of continued American military and economic presence in 
Europe. We have a shared love of freedom and democracy. They have 
supported our global war on terror, Operation Enduring Freedom in 
Afghanistan, and our coalition efforts in Iraq.
  Why did the administration do this? Poland cooperates closely with 
American diplomacy on such issues as democratization, nuclear 
proliferation, human rights, regional cooperation in Central and 
Eastern Europe, and U.N. reform. Now is definitely the moment for this 
Congress and the administration to restore a level of credible 
relationship with Poland in order to continue an abiding friendship 
that should not be smeared by this really tactless decision to announce 
this consequential defense decision on September 17, a date which 
hearkens back to some of the worst memories that Poland has as part of 
her history.
  I beseech this Congress and the administration to correct a great 
mistake.

                          ____________________