U.S. Stations Troops Permanently For The First Time In Poland

U.S. soldiers carry flags of both Poland and the United States before the opening ceremony of the first United States Air Force (USAF) aviation detachment in Poland, at an air force base in Lask near Lodz, central Poland, November 9, 2012. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

U.S. Stations First Permanent Military Unit In Poland -- New York Times/Reuters

LASK, Poland (Reuters) - The United States launched its first permanent military presence on Polish soil on Friday, an air force detachment to service warplanes, in a move long sought by its NATO ally Warsaw.

President Barack Obama announced plans to station air force personnel at Lask air base near Lodz, central Poland, during a visit last year after Warsaw pressed for what it sees as a security guarantee in the face of a more assertive Russia.

From next year, the 10 resident U.S. staff will service four annual aircraft rotations, mainly of F-16 fighter jets and C-130 Hercules transport planes. Up to 200 uniformed personnel and civilian contractors will also be temporarily on the base.

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More News On The U.S. Stationing Soldiers On A Permanent Basis In Poland

AF establishes full-time presence in Poland -- U.S. Air Force
First US military unit to be continuously stationed in Poland activated -- Stars and Stripes
US puts first full-time 'boots on ground' in Poland -- AFP
U.S. stations first permanent military unit in Poland -- The Star/Reuters
10 US Troops Start Mission to Poland -- AP
U.S. Unit Takes Permanent Posting in Poland -- Wall Street Journal
US Air Force to train Polish troops -- Voice of Russia

Polish President Accuses President Obama Of Betraying Poland On Missile Defense

Photo: Polish President Bronisław Komorowski. Wikipedia

Polish President Accuses Obama Of Betraying Poland -- The Telegraph

The Polish president has accused Barack Obama of betraying Poland by cancelling a promised missile defence system.

Reflecting Warsaw's long-standing anger over the 2009 cancellation of a controversial Bush-era anti-ballistic missile system President Bronislaw Komorowski said Poland should build its own missile shield to ensure national defence.

"Our mistake was that by accepting the American offer of a shield we failed to take into account the political risk associated with a change of president," said Mr Komorowski in a magazine interview. "We paid a high political price. We do not want to make the same mistake again. We must have a missile system as an element of our defences."

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More News On Poland's Criticism Of President Obama's Missile Defense Decisions

Poland Calls ‘Mistake’ Cooperation with U.S. over Missile Defense – President -- RIA Novosti
Warsaw blasts US missile defense deal -- RT
US missile deal was a mistake: Poland -- New York Daily News
Poland wants own segment in US missile defense -- Washington Post/AP
Poland to develop its own missile defence -- Voice of America

My Comment: So much for trust between allies .... there is definitely none between Poland and the U.S. on this issue.

U.S. Fighter Jets To Be Stationed In Poland

F-16s

U.S. May Place Fighter Jets in Poland -- Wall Street Journal

WARSAW — President Barack Obama, set to visit Warsaw this month, will announce the details of a move of U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets to Poland from the Aviano Air Base in Italy, the Polish press reports today. If the plan becomes reality, the move will irk Russia and may become a serious test of the quality of the reset in relations between Washington and Moscow, as well as those between Moscow and Warsaw.

It’s a move Poland has long wanted. It isn’t currently threatened by a foreign power, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski said in his inaugural speech last year. But the memory of occupation and foreign rule — by the Habsburg empire, Prussia, Russia, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union — at various points between the late 18th century and 1989 lives on in this country, as does the memory of abandonment by European allies when Hitler attacked in 1939, igniting World War II.

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My Comment: So much for all of that talk on resetting U.S. - Russian relations. Expect the Russians to resist.

US Starts To Deploys Patriot Missiles In Poland

Patriot Missile Battery Arrives In Poland -- Reuters

A U.S. Patriot missile battery has arrived in Poland as part of an agreement to upgrade the NATO ally's air defenses, the U.S. embassy said on Monday, in a deployment likely to irritate neighboring Russia.

The battery, manned by up to 150 U.S. troops, will be stationed for about one month four times a year in Morag, northern Poland, close to Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad. Its main mission is to train Polish military personnel.

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Update: U.S. Joins Poland for Exercises -- Wall Street Journal

My Comment: It sends a wrong message to Russia, on top of the fact that it's contribution to the security to Eastern Europe will be next to nil.

This is all about politics, with the Poles using the Americans to rile up the Russians .... and being very successful at it.