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March 10, 2024
Andrzej Duda, President of Poland - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Radoslaw Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, Marszałek Senatu - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Szymon Hołownia, Marszałek Sejmu - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
c/o Ambassador Marek Magierowski - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Embassy of the Republic of Poland
2640 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20009
RE: Response to Ambassador Magierowski's statement.
On March 9, 2024, Marek Magierowski, Poland's Ambassador to the United States, issued a statement acknowledging receipt of the letter of several Polish American organizations and numerous individuals advocating against Polish military involvement in Ukraine. The Ambassador expressed his disapproval of the content of the letter, which, in his opinion, reiterates Kremlin propaganda. The Ambassador's statement questioned the signatories' sentiments against military involvement and expressed his assurance of Poland's unwavering support for Ukraine, a position allegedly shared across the broad political spectrum in Poland.
According to Ambassador Magierowski’s statement, Russia's strategic defeat is the only way to ensure the preservation of Polish national interests and the peaceful future of Europe and the Transatlantic Community. Disappointedly, the statement fails to explain the meaning of "Russia's strategic defeat" and does not elaborate on the ways and costs required to achieve such a defeat.
The striking ambiguity of the Ambassador's statement calls for essential follow-up questions. What shall constitute Russia's strategic defeat? Would killing a certain number of Russian troops suffice to meet the definition? Should the destruction of the Kremlin government be a prerequisite? Should nuclear arms be used to eliminate the apparent superiority of the Russian conventional forces? Would the conquest of all Russian Federation regions and partitioning of Russia be necessary? Is our government willing to act against our national interests and import the proxy war into the Polish borders, and risk the destruction of the country while complying with and aiding foreign agendas? Would trigger-happy politicians and other proponents of the escalation be volunteering to serve on the frontlines?
Finally, the most critical question: What kind of casualties is Poland’s government willing to accept to achieve the unrealistically ambitious, and illusory objective of the Russian strategic defeat? What level of Polish casualties would be acceptable to the government in Warsaw? One hundred thousand? One million? Ten million? Some irresponsibly say that any number of casualties would be a small price to pay to bring the Russians to their knees. Is this extreme view shared by key political leaders in Warsaw?
In summary, we strongly object to the baseless suggestion that the letter’s signatories are influenced by Russian propaganda as well as to the ambiguity of the Ambassador's statement, and the Polish government's silence on the above fundamental issues. We restate that the policies of political escalation and actual military engagement in Ukraine, if any, are unwise and might logically and predictably lead to tragic consequences for Poland.
Fortunately, such outcomes are not preordained and are, in fact, entirely preventable. We concur with Pope Francis's recent statements that preventing the country from national suicide and creating conditions for diplomatic solutions that lead to a just and stable peace through negotiation is a brave and prudent course of action. The above advice applies equally to Ukraine and Poland.
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