General Says NATO a Paper Tiger if it Doesn't Comply With Poland's Demands

In an interview published Tuesday in Polish daily newspaper Nasz Dziennik, divisional general and former special forces commander Roman Polko called on NATO to expand its presence in Polish territory in order to "intimidate" Russia, stating that if it fails to do so, the alliance will prove itself to be nothing more than a "paper tiger."

Polko praised newly elected Polish President Andrzej Duda's plan to station additional military bases in Eastern Europe, noting that the president's recent visit to Estonia was "a clear demonstration of the fact that he will continue policies of late President Lech Kaczynski…[who] pointed out that if our governments [those of Poland and the Baltic States] act together, we can strengthen our position in NATO."

The general emphasized that "this approach stands in stark contrast to the populist policies of [former] Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and President Bronislaw Komorowski, who presented slogans, words and heroic rhetoric with no concrete action to back them."

Polko agreed with President Duda's estimate that NATO's eastern members are treated as 'second-class' due to the absence of significant NATO infrastructure in Eastern Europe. "A situation has emerged where Moscow is increasingly flexing its muscles and, basically, does whatever it wants, while NATO, as far as I see it, has become much weaker than it was when we entered into it," Polko lamented.

The general called the project to expand NATO's rapid reaction force nothing but "noisy exercises with the large-scale support of the media," noting that "after all, the majority of the forces involved in these rapid reaction force exercises were Polish; in other words, it was not a demonstration of the Alliance's military capabilities, but an event to rally the public, which could hardly scare Moscow."

The general emphasized the importance of stationing permanent NATO military bases in his country, noting that "if our membership in NATO is to have any meaning, we should have the forces on our territory capable of intimidating the potential enemy. Otherwise, we will remain a 'paper tiger'." 

Polko noted that NATO must consistently be ready "to act simultaneously on all flanks," adding that "on the eastern flank, we need the appropriate infrastructure, bases, joint exercises and the constant presence of NATO troops. This is necessary for the existence of any military alliance, regardless of what is happening in Ukraine." The general warned that "if these conditions are not met, it would be difficult to speak of a strong NATO and of collective defense."

Polko warned about Russia's supposed craftiness in challenging NATO's resolve. Commenting on Germany, France and Italy's past cooperation with Russia and the Russian leadership, the general suggested that these countries have "gotten their own concepts confused. They knew that Putin was no good, but, looked for accord, hoped that he would change. If Poland voiced criticism of this naïve approach, the countries which are called the locomotives of the European Union did not take it seriously. This demonstrates the conformity of these countries, out of which the current situation has come about. They have no idea how to stop Putin and to get out of this trap."

The general keenly suggested that now it is up to NATO's Eastern European members "to create a joint strategy or concept of security around countries such as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia…to emphasize the problem," which will force Western European countries "to really look at the situation and to join in the joint initiatives." Polko noted that Poland will also have to look "to its real partner across the ocean –the United States" for support. As far as Europe is concerned, the general explained that Poland will have to "work first and foremost to convince Germany, our closest neighbor and partner, about the appeal of the concepts presented by Andrzej Duda. I believe that in these negotiations it would do no harm to remind the Germans of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and its consequences. We should clearly convey to Germany the idea that policy with Russia going over Poland's head makes no sense."