Sending the Vice President to Poland and the Czech Republic this week could easily be another misstep by the Administration when it comes to handling relations with Central and Eastern Europe. Despite his seniority, the famously gaffe-prone Joe Biden may not be the wisest choice to handle Washington’s “damage control” exercise in Warsaw and Prague.
And damage has been done in abundance, not just to America’s diplomatic relations with Poland and the Czech Republic, but to its standing in this part of the world more broadly. President Obama’s abandonment of the Third Site missile defense agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic, hurriedly announced by the Administration on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet’s invasion of Poland, has led the Poles and Czechs to conclude that their interests can be discarded at will. It has also left them wondering whether transatlantic security really is indivisible, or whether some countries matter more to Washington than its fellow NATO partners.
The 2009 Transatlantic Trends survey revealed that Central and Eastern Europeans see America in a less positive light than Western Europeans, and are significantly less enthusiastic about Obama’s conduct of foreign policy than their Western counterparts. Turning this around will be no easy feat and it will certainly take more than a two-day visit by the Vice President and an offer to host small parts of America’s revised missile defense architecture.
Poland and the Czech Republic’s interest in hosting the Third Site missile defenses was always about a durable U.S. commitment to Europe and to their Central and Eastern European allies. Poland has long sought to layer? its relationship with America by complementing its NATO relationship with a stronger bilateral relationship. It has over 2,000 troops in Afghanistan and has made clear that it would seriously consider a U.S. request for additional troops – but only if it feels secure at home. Having Washington talk to Moscow more than it speaks to Warsaw does not build confidence.
For Joe Biden’s trip to be a success, he will have to back up Obama’s vague assurances with actual deliverables. There is plenty he can do on the security front with Warsaw, honoring elements of the package-deal that Poland signed with the previous Administration other than missile defense. The Administration can also put its weight behind Congressional review of the Visa Waiver Program, which excludes Poles from visa-free entry to the U.S., but includes most other EU countries including the Czech Republic.
By itself, Biden’s visit will not ameliorate the damage done to Polish-Czech-American relations by the Administration’s disastrous handling of the Third Site missile defense announcement and its overly-cozy relationship with Moscow. Now is the time for Biden to offer concrete measures to advance the Polish-American and Czech –American relationships.
Third Site Missile Defenses Would Demonstrate the Indivisibility of Transatlantic Security
Author: Sally McNamaraAs Iran inches closer to crossing the nuclear weapons threshold and continues to advance its ballistic missile program, the dangers to Europe and America increase. Estimates predict that Tehran’s missiles could hit Europe’s entire landmass within 4 years, with parts of Europe already in Tehran’s crosshairs.
An attack on Europe would almost certainly hit American assets on the Continent, and would be invoked by NATO as the same as an attack on the United States itself. As the commemorations of the 9/11 terrorist attacks begin, it should be remembered that it was on 9/12/2001 that for its first and only time, NATO invoked the sacred Article V clause to demonstrate the indivisibility of Euro-Atlantic security.
Iran has already demonstrated that it is an aggressive actor on the international stage, supporting and consorting with odious regimes such as North Korea and terrorist actors such as Hezbollah. It has violently crushed legitimate domestic opposition and sought to solidify its position among Iranian elites with extreme anti-Western rhetoric and actions that glorify past terrorist acts and incite further terrorism.
As President Obama looks to defend the United States against such rogue regimes, missile defense is a tried, tested and trusted protection strategy. The placing of missile defenses outside of the U.S. as well as on the Homeland reinforces America’s long-held commitment to the NATO alliance. To make America and her allies deliberately vulnerable to ballistic missile or nuclear attack makes no sense. In an age where America’s enemies have ballistic missile capabilities, the United States must have missile defense technologies.
As a workable, cost effective, defensive solution to current and emerging threats, missile defense makes sense for America and for Europe. Abandoning America’s most enduring allies now, in the face of unsupportable Russian objections, is a tactical miscalculation with long-term strategic implications. President Obama must not surrender to spurious Russian accusations on one of America’s greatest defense assets.