Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz's
Remarks at CSIS

Washington, December 14, 2001

 Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great honor and privilage to have this opportunity to deliver a speech at this renowned and prestigious institution - The Center for Strategic and International Studies. Think tanks in Washington are very special organizations that combine the highest political capabilities with political influence. These are the institutions where new ideas can be drafted and offered to policy makers. CSIS is the leading institution of this type. Therefore, I strongly value this opportunity to share with you some of my thoughts on the current make up of the new world order after the horrific terrorist attacks of September the 11th. I will try to evaluate how Polish foreign policy can contribute to that new architecture of global politics. I personally cherish this visit to CSIS as well, because we have so many friends here who for so many years were ready to help and advise us on sophisticated issues such as global order or political and economic transformation.

I wish to thank Dr. Simon Serfati, who is chairing today's meeting, and Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, and Mr. John Hamre for their friendship and support. I would also like to express my special thanks to Mr. George Handy for his lasting efforts in leading the US-EU-Poland Action Commission. This is a venture run by CSIS that combines, in my mind, two typical American traits - romanticism and pragmatism. Using these characteristics, American experts try to help us in our efforts to enable a smooth transition of Poland to become a European Union member soon.

The long-lasting tradition of friendship between the Polish and American nations goes back well before the fundamental transformation of 1989 in Poland. A feeling of closeness bridging our two nations has been present for decades. A true demonstration of that sentiment took place exactly 20 years ago in 1981 when in many American homes candles were lit as a sign of solidarity with the Polish nation torn by the imposition of the Marshal Law. Nearly two decades later, hundreds of thousands of Poles in Warsaw and all the country around, lit candles to honor the victims, whose lives have been drastically and unfairly taken away from their loved ones in the gruesome terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

The attacks took place just over three months ago, yet we all have in our minds the picture of the horror that unfolded before our eyes. Maybe some of you lost a friend or a relative in the Pentagon or the Twin Towers. Yet most of us never knew those who died. We all imagine the fear and pain on the faces of those victims. These images shall always stay in our memory. Most people in Poland watched the live satellite transmission of those events, as if it all happened in their neighborhood. That's why the candles in our country were lit.

But our friendship is not only limited to symbolic gestures. It also has a practical dimension. Every consecutive American administration, as well as the Congress of the United States, have supported Poland in its long and difficult road to democracy and a free market economy. We appreciate full support we received in our successful efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as well as in our current strive to become a member of the European Union.

Poland is a tested friend and ally of the United States. Over the last ten years our mutual relations have been enhanced by close cooperation based on a strong notion of trust. We have successfully maintained the US Office of Interest in Baghdad, run by our talented diplomats; our forces have successfully worked hand-in-hand in Kosovo; our trilateral cooperation with Ukraine has opened before us new opportunities to further the transatlantic ties. Finally, our unequivocal support in the fight against terrorism has naturally preempted our decision - taken immediately after being requested - to send Polish army units to Afghanistan. Once again we have confirmed our traditional motto: semper fidelis - always faithful.

After the tragedy of September the 11th, we have found ourselves in a new reality. The oncoming times will certainly be more difficult, more challenging. Just as international reality is undergoing dynamic transformation, there is a need to reconsider a number of issues. The new Polish government is determined to pursue constant values of Polish foreign policy, actively participating in facing new challenges. Our priorities are stable.

Poland has entirely pledged itself on the side of the antiterrorist coalition. We have fully supported all recent NATO decisions. We are working on the implementation of the Security Council's resolution on countering global terrorism. Our heads of state and government officials are in constant close contact. Cooperation between our intelligence agencies has been greatly enhanced.

Let me also stress that after September the 11th we shall strive for an expansion in real terms of military and political cooperation with the United States for the successful struggle with a new form of cancer known as international terrorism.

We also see a vital role for Poland in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. The international conference on combating terrorism in Warsaw, organized by President Aleksander Kwasniewski on November 6, was attended by representatives of 17 Central European states. The Conference Declaration, signed by all participants, indicates a strong political commitment to fighting terrorism in close collaboration with the United States and the whole international community. The adopted Plan of Action spells out concrete measures to prevent money laundering and financing of terrorism, to strengthen intelligence cooperation, as well as to control the movement of persons and goods.

All of these steps are proof of our commitment to defend the values and norms of the free world. Yet we are ready to do more and to sacrifice more. Hence our direct participation in Afghanistan. The end of military operations does not mean the end of the threat that terrorism brings. We are aware of the fact that this menace can surface elsewhere in the world, which will require the same consequent actions to root it out. At this point I would like to express my deep appreciation to President George W. Bush's administration for its well balanced and thought out actions. The temptation of immediate retaliation was quickly disregarded. The undertaken engagement was rational - although it was effective, it caused minimal collateral damage.

Success of the current operation in Afghanistan is not only a success against terrorism but it also can give this country a chance to be welcomed back to the global family of communities. I deeply hope that the Petersberg Agreement of December the 5th will be the beginning of that return.

The war with terrorism is not a clash between two civilizations. It is a fight to defend the civilization of the human kind. Let it be clear: there is no room for any selectivity, flexibility or relativism when the most fundamental values are openly and furiously attacked. However we need to reconsider our positions how to respond to the challenges of the North-South axis, to the needs of millions of those who suffer from extreme poverty. We must not forget that terrorist activities gain public support primarily in those countries and environments where people are poor and bereft of hope. For this reason we must put greater emphasis on international dialogue, education and mutual tolerance, and upbringing of young people. The promotion of democracy and good governance offers one of the most important solutions. Our own Polish experience of the past twelve years since the historic transition of 1989 testifies to the merits of this.

Globalization is an irreversible process but we must democratize it and make its fruits available to all countries and nations. At this point however, it should be underlined that in our effort to clearly understand the sources of terrorism, and to eliminate its causes, we can never justify terrorists. The question why political extremism leads to terrorism is still left unanswered. Despite the fact that nearly all the executors of that murderous attack were Muslim - Islam is not the source of these actions. We all need to find an accurate explanation for such behavior. Meanwhile, we cannot let our memory of the tragedy of September the 11th become clouded with other events, which could only benefit the selfish cause of the terrorists. There seems to be a need for a new global security order. Globalization is an effect of a spontaneous economic processes. However there might be a need to foster an international control mechanism because spontaneity can lead to crisis. Perhaps the right time has come to discuss this issue in various forums, such as this one or the United Nations. During my last visit to New York, I listened carefully to President George W. Bush's speech at the UN General Assembly. He said that the United Nations was founded in the cause to defend ourselves and our future against terror and lawless violence. And he went on to say that the UN, "resolved that the aggressions and ambitions of the wicked must be opposed early, decisively, and collectively, before they threaten us all. That evil has returned, and that cause is renewed".

Ladies and Gentlemen,

NATO is and should remain, first of all, a defensive alliance, whose member states are united in solidarity, as formulated in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, in order to provide mutual assistance in case of attack. This solidarity and credibility is the power that erases the threat of a conflict for decades. At the end of the Cold War NATO ceased to be only an institution of credible deterrence and became a crucial stabilizing factor in Europe through its political and military engagement. NATO was the first multilateral Western institution that not only gave a helping hand to the post-communist states in transition, for example by offering Partnership for Peace, but also opened up and actually enlarged by inviting three new democracies.

The realistic perspective of membership in NATO is often a key factor bringing about domestic changes in applicant countries and their encouragement to address some unresolved issues with their neighbors or other ethnic and minority problems. Enlargement by three new member states in 1999 means that NATO has created a source of hope and mobilization of efforts for those who were not included in the first round. We are happy to cooperate with our friends from the Vilnius 10. Quite recently I had an opportunity to discuss issues on NATO enlargement during the Bucharest OSCE meeting on December the 4th.

The question the Alliance is facing now is how to function in the reality after September the 11th. It is necessary to make NATO an institution of international order with the USA as the key player in the international antiterrorist alliance. We believe in the great importance of the Trans-Atlantic link in the war against terrorism. But at the same time we should not forget that the positive, as well as the negative consequences of globalization require a reinvigoration of the United Nations system.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The response to the challenges after September 11th should be focused on the acceleration of the European integration process, as well as NATO enlargement by aspiring countries. Integration requires the same values, principles and procedures, which means that Europe is indeed becoming a united continent, where all of our nations enjoy security and development, but where we bear co-responsibility for our fate and at the same time share the risk of engaging against any threat related to either one community, state, region, or the whole Europe and the world. Poland will seek close cooperation with the United States towards the Prague Summit decisions next year, which should be addressed to a larger number of candidates. We attach particular importance to the "open door" principle reiterated in the President Bush's historic statement in Warsaw this June. We have given special support to our neighbors - Slovakia and the Baltic States - but we will also welcome other aspiring countries as soon as they are ready to join the Alliance. This last statement is especially addressed to the South East European region. Poland is situated in the stable North Eastern part of the Continent. However our mutual goal should be to widen the area of security and stability in Europe. A stabilizing role in the Balkans was effectively played by NATO. Now these countries need to have their hopes of joining the Alliance reinforced. NATO should expand also in this region. The feasibility of membership is a stabilizing factor for these countries.

The consolidation of NATO-Russia cooperation is necessary, as long as NATO's identity and cohesion are preserved. Concentration on an antiterrorist dimension does not eliminate all existing discrepancies and problems. However we welcome the recent NATO-Russia realignment because Poland is an Alliance member on the Eastern extremes. The current Polish government is poised to develop better relations with Russia, especially in social and economic fields. We support a pragmatic and constructive framework of cooperation between NATO and Russia. Institutionalization of this line of cooperation can only confirm its current true character. NATO-Russia realignment should make the next enlargement phase smoother than before.

More attention than now should be paid - in our opinion - to the fulfillment of NATO-Ukraine cooperation (even when taking into account some problems with arms exports to Macedonia). It's fundamental not to leave this very important country aside in this historic juncture. We need to engage Ukraine more actively. The Western option of the Ukrainian foreign policy must be an open one.

There is nothing more important for Polish foreign policy now than successful accession to the EU in the first wave of the Union enlargement to the East. Without this membership, we will be excluded from the family of modern European nations. Thus joining the EU is our strategic, national goal. It is the aim of the new Polish government to complete its negotiations with the EU more vigorously than ever before, so as to achieve membership by 2004. There is no other way. Only there we see a real "modernization anchor". Hesitation in this matter doesn't help. We need to join the Union quickly, with full determination. There is no other real option for us.

I am convinced that as a new member Poland will be capable of making an important, original and constructive contribution to the European Union. Our significant assets such as the size of our territory and its location in the center of Europe, a population of almost forty million, a dynamically expanding economy, an educated society, and a democratic state ruled by law that guarantees protection of human rights - will strengthen the European Union, will strengthen us, and - all of that at the same time - will strengthen our faithful ally.

Poland has a strong sense of European identity. It stems from our history and our contemporary experiences. The necessity of adopting the acquis communautaire of the European Union in the course of Polish accession talks with the EU may eventually cause strains in the Polish-American economic relationship. We should find some countermeasures. For instance the Polish-American Bilateral Economic Partnership Group has been established as a platform for discussing and proposing measures to avoid or minimize controversies resulting from the asymmetry in legal conditions concerning Polish-EU and Polish-American economic cooperation. I think that it also reflects the key feature of the transatlantic partnership. On the one hand it promotes common values and pursues mutual interests by joint actions, on the other it acknowledges that controversial issues might appear, which need to be addressed through dialog in a spirit of flexibility and reciprocal respect.

Let us not forget that the US government from the very beginning - that is from the moment the new democracies' accession to the EU had been seriously contemplated - supported our bid for EU membership. It was understood in Washington, that EU enlargement would strongly enhance political and economic transition in the aspiring countries. That it would also strengthen the EU itself, which, after all, is an economic and political partner of greatest importance to the USA.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A natural strive of Poles, and the Americans alike, towards freedom, democracy, security and stability has always been a frame for our relationship. It was also a key factor in the decision-making process which led to reorientation of the Polish security policy. Shortly after Poland regained sovereignty in 1989, NATO membership became a prime goal of our foreign policy. Without this vision, shared by our American friends - supported by the unprecedented backing of Polish Americans - this process would not necessarily have been successful.

You can ask what is the specific role of Poland in the region? One of the big successes to which Poland contributed was the fact that overcoming a certain international order, as well as collapsed political and social-economic system, was carried out peacefully. That means not only that the Round Table talks in 1989 prepared a smooth transition to democracy. It is also confirmed by the fact that Poland has established friendly relations, and not only by means of treaties, with all of its seven neighbors. Particularly with our close neighbors - Germany, Ukraine and Lithuania - it has proven that we were able to overcome painful memories and hopefully look into the future. Perhaps with Belarus we would wish that our relations could improve, especially in economic and interpersonal dimensions - we hope that with time we will observe in this country changes that will bring freedom and affluence to its people. For the last decade we have consistently run our foreign polity with the belief that supporting national interests of our neighbors, countries of our region is the best way of promoting our national interest in the age of the integrating Europe.

Poland is a country where democracy and the new market economy have taken hold for good. It is also an example of the largest and most successful economic transformation in Central Europe. This has undoubtedly had a stabilizing impact on other countries in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. We are ready to share our experience with those nations, which in many cases are in the initial phase of the transformation process. Knowledge and understanding of the East is one of our assets, which we are prepared to share in an effort to engage countries like Russia and Ukraine. In my view, there is a huge potential for Polish - American cooperation to reach out to those countries, Ukraine in particular.

Polish membership in the European and the Trans-Atlantic structures will open a new chapter in the history of Polish - American relations, as well as it will put many new tasks in front of my country. This will be a new stimulus to focus our further activity on strengthening Poland's position as the United States' principal partner in the region and a major player in Europe as well. It is in our national interest to ensure the continued U.S. presence in Europe and commitment to its affairs, especially in the areas of security, investment and high-tech areas.

Also crucial for us is the American support for the further processes of political and economic transformation, taking place in Central and Eastern Europe. In this connection, we have great hopes for the activity of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation. We have received great support from other developed countries on our long and painful journey through political, social and economic transformation. Let me mention the special contribution of the Fulbright Commission or Peace Corps. I wish to thank you all for your help. However, at the same time we feel obliged to react in a similar way and lend a hand to other countries, which are still on their way to complete that road we used to tread on. With our experience and expert knowledge of the Eastern and Southern regions of Europe, we can offer our assistance through the Polish-American Freedom Foundation to those countries, which are experiencing difficulties in their reform processes.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When I personally observed the presence of thousands of Poles and thousands of candles in front of the American Embassy in Warsaw on September the 11th , I realized that the old motto of Kosciuszko and Pulaski "For Your Freedom and Ours" is still alive and most valid. I link this to the words of President G.W.Bush exclaimed by him this year in the heart of Europe - as he then called Warsaw - "The question no longer is what others can do for Poland, but what America and Poland and all of Europe can do for the rest of the world". This is the time when "united we stand" means exactly what it should.