 |
 |
 |
|
AUGUST 2007 |
Volume II Issue 8 |
|
|
|
From the Ambassador |
|
Ambassador
Victor Ashe |
Greetings from Warsaw.
Poland still mourns for the Polish pilgrims
who died and were injured in a tragic bus
accident in the French Alps on July 22.
President Bush and I sent letters conveying
heartfelt condolences to President Kaczynski
and the Polish people. In my absence, Chargé
d’Affaires Ken Hillas signed the condolence
book at the Presidential Palace. |
|
On July 16, President Lech Kaczynski met
with President Bush in the White House to
discuss important bilateral issues such
as the Missile Defense Initiative in Europe,
the Visa Waiver Program and mutual security
issues. President Kaczynski also traveled
to California where he visited Vandenberg
Air Force Base (which is part of the Missile
Defense system), and he posthumously awarded
Poland’s highest honor, the Order of the
White Eagle, to the late President Ronald
Reagan. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan accepted
the award at the Reagan Presidential Library.
I later wrote to Mrs. Reagan to congratulate
her on the award and to inform her of an
event British Ambassador Charles Crawford
will host in Warsaw on September 6 in honor
of the book by John O’Sullivan “The President,
the Pope and the Prime Minister: Three Who
Changed the World.” The Polish people still
cherish the memory of President Reagan,
who did so much to secure freedom for their
country.
On August 1, Poland commemorated the 63rd
anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising with
memorial masses, parades, wreath-layings
and meetings with veterans. Many events
were organized at the Warsaw
Rising Museum and the city’s Uprising
Memorial. On August 3-7, the city of Szczecin
will host a Tall Ships Festival and conferences
on Herman Melville and Joseph Conrad. The
Embassy supported the Melville conference
and the publication of the first two books
on the writer in Polish. Chargé Ken Hillas
and Cultural Attaché Jim Wolfe will represent
the Embassy at these events. From August
5 to August 14, 26 soldiers from U.S. Army
Europe and 8 soldiers from the Illinois
Army National Guard will participate in
the Annual Military Pilgrimage to Jasna
Góra – Częstochowa, a march of approximately
300 kilometers. The Pilgrimage commemorates
the 1655 Polish victory over Swedish invaders.
I am also pleased General David McKiernan,
Commander of U.S. Army Forces in Europe,
will be visiting Poland this month.
Looking ahead, the United States will be
the “Lead Nation” for Poland’s International
Defense Trade Show in Kielce, Poland,
September 3-6 and there will be good U.S.
participation at the Economic Forum in Krynica
(the Polish Davos), September 5-8. Polish-American
Jazz great Michal Urbaniak is planning another
commemorative 9/11 concert in Warsaw this
year with other American performers, possibly
Al Jarreau. And American Astronaut Dr. Shannon
Lucid will visit Poland in early October
to participate in an international conference
commemorating fifty years of space exploration
organized by the Polish Academy of Science
and other Embassy speaking events.
Please feel free to send me comments on
this newsletter anytime you wish. I am especially
interested in hearing from you on how it
can be improved. You can email me directly
at AsheVH@state.gov.
I can assure you that I personally read
all of the emails I receive on this newsletter.
Joan, J. Victor, Martha and I are enjoying
several weeks vacation in U.S. I wish you
a wonderful and restful August, and I am
looking forward to being back in Warsaw
by mid-August.
Sincerely yours,
Victor Ashe |
|
|
|
Embassy
News |
| 
|
Presidential
Seal |
|
President Bush Conveys Condolences for
Bus Tragedy |
| On
July 27 condolences from President George
W. Bush were delivered to President
Lech Kaczynski and the people of Poland
for the Polish pilgrims who died and
were injured in the tragic bus accident
in the French Alps. Earlier Ambassador
Victor Ashe also sent condolences and
Chargé d'Affaires Kenneth Hillas signed
the condolence book on behalf of the
Embassy. To read the letters, click
here.
more |
| |
|
| 
|
Chargé
Hillas and Colonel Runner lay
a wreath at the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier |
|
Poland Commemorates 63rd Anniversary
of the Warsaw Uprising |
| On
August 1, Poland commemorated the 63rd
Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising with
memorial masses, wreath layings and
meetings with veterans. A number of
events were held at Warsaw's Uprising
Museum and the city's Uprising Memorial.
Chargé d'Affaires Kenneth Hillas and
Defense Attaché Colonel Richard Runner
represented the Embassy at many of these
events.
more |
| |
|
|
 |
|
President George W. Bush welcomes
Polish President Lech Kaczynski
to the Oval Office Monday, July
16, 2007 |
|
U.S. President George W. Bush Welcomes
President Lech Kaczynski of Poland |
|
U.S.
President George W. Bush welcomed President
Lech Kaczynski of Poland to the White
House on July 16, 2007. President Bush
and President Kaczynski discussed important
bilateral issues such as Poland’s wish
to participate in the visa waver program
and plans for building a missile defense
base in Poland. President Bush emphasized
in his press statement that “…there's
no better symbol of our desire to work
for peace and security than working
on a missile defense system -- a missile
defense system that would provide security
for Europe from single or dual-launched
regimes that may emanate from parts
of the world where leaders don't particularly
care for our way of life, and/or in
the process of trying to develop serious
weapons of mass destruction.”
more |
| |
|
 |
Polish
President Lech Kaczynski at
a press conference at the Vandenberg
Air Force base
(AP Photo) |
|
Polish President Lech Kaczynski visits
Vandenberg Air Force Base |
|
Polish
President Lech Kaczynski visited Vandenberg
Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County,
California on July 17, 2007. Kaczynski
toured underground U.S. missile defense
facilities located on the base and met
with Air Force Lieutenant General Trey
Obering, Missile Defense Agency Director,
and Colonel Mike Fortney, 30th Space
Wing Vice Commander. Kaczynski said
that he hopes for cooperation between
his country and the U.S. on plans to
base a missile defense shield in Europe.
more |
| |
|
 |
President
Lech Kaczynski presents the
Order of the White Eagle to
Nancy Reagan (Reuters) |
|
President Kaczynski Presents Order of
the White Eagle to Late President Ronald
Reagan |
| On
July 17, 2007, Polish President Lech
Kaczynski posthumously awarded Poland’s
highest honor, the Order of the White
Eagle, to the late President Ronald
Reagan. In a speech at the Reagan Presidential
Library, President Kaczynski said that
President Reagan inspired the Polish
people to work for change and helped
unseat the repressive communist regime
in Poland and it “would not have been
possible if it was not for the tough-mindedness,
determination, and feeling of mission
of President Ronald Reagan.” Kaczynski
praised Reagan’s leadership and foreign
policy which used political pressure
to plant “seeds of freedom” in the 1980’s,
weakening the self-confidence of the
communists. Former First Lady Nancy
Reagan accepted the award during the
afternoon event at the presidential
library in Simi Valley.
more |
| |
|
|
 |
| U.S.
Congress |
|
House Committee Approves FY 2008 Defense
Appropriation Bill Removing “Without
Prejudice” Some Missile Defense Construction
Funding |
| On
July 27, the House of Representatives
Appropriations Committee approved a
Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Appropriation
Bill that removed “without prejudice”
$139 million from the White House request
for the Missile Defense program.
more |
| |
|
|
 |
|
U.S. Congress Seal |
|
Congressional Letter Supports Expansion
of Visa Waiver Program |
| A
bipartisan group in Congress sent a
letter to Senate and House of Representatives
Conferees which supports expansion of
the Visa Waiver Program. The group seeks
modernization of the Visa Waiver Program
which avoids exclusive reliance on an
arbitrary and subjective refusal rate
in favor of a more comprehensive, security-focused
approach which takes into account the
totality of a country’s risk mitigation
measures. This approach represents the
opportunity to enhance U.S. national
security, boost the economy, and solidify
relationships with key allies.
more |
| |
|
 |
U.S. Embassy Seal |
|
Request for the Extradition of Edward
Mazur Rejected |
On
July 20, the US District Court of
Northern Illinois issued a decision
rejecting the request of the Polish
Ministry of Justice for the extradition
of Edward Mazur to be tried in Poland
on charges of incitement to murder
the National Police Chief Marek Papala
in 1998.
more |
| |
|
 |
Senator Richard Lugar meets
with three interns from Poland |
|
Senator Lugar Meets With Polish Congressional
Interns |
U.S.
Senator from Indiana Richard Lugar,
Republican leader of the Foreign Relations
Committee, met with three interns
from Poland, Michal Penakala, Rafal
Libera, and Kalina Jurgas, who are
participating in the Capitol Hill
Internship Program. The Capitol Hill
and Westminster Internship Programs
established in 2004 and in 2007, respectively,
feature civic education undertakings
of US-EU Government Initiatives, which
lobbies Members of Congress of the
United States and Members of Parliament
of the United Kingdom to appoint select
Polish student leaders as congressional
and parliamentary interns. The internships
are designed to promote career-building,
academically challenging opportunities,
to gifted young Polish scholars from
top-tier institutions of higher learning.
To date, US-EU Government Initiatives
has assisted 13 Polish students in
winning summer internship appointments
in the United States House and Senate
Offices and in the United Kingdom
House of Commons. For more information
on the Capitol Hill and Westminster
Internship Programs, please visit:
http://www.iko.com.pl/internships/
more |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Doug Adkins and band perform
at 10th Western Piknik in Sulomino |
|
Doug Adkins Headlines 10th Annual Western
Piknik on Wolin Island |
| Country
singer Doug
Adkins of Montana and his band performed
two sets for thousands of country music
fans at the 10th annual “Western
Piknik” in Sulomino, Poland. In
his first set, Adkins and company performed
covers of some of American Country &
Western music’s best-loved artists,
including Johnny Cash. The second set
treated the enthusiastic crowd to modern
country tunes, including Adkins’ original
material. Cultural Attaché James Wolfe
joined local and regional officials
and Piknik organizer Dariusz Stepien
in the official opening ceremonies and
introduced Doug Adkins, whose appearance
was funded in large part by the American
Embassy.
more |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Colonel Artur Zdrojewski and
Colonel Stanley Prusinski pose
with a Polish soldier wearing
one of the donated biological
protection suits |
|
U.S. Department of Defense Donates Biological
Protection Equipment to Polish Armed
Forces |
|
Under the Humanitarian Assistance Program
administered by the U.S. European Command
and the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw’s Office
of Defense Cooperation (ODC), the Polish
Armed Forces received 9,900 personal
sets of biological protection equipment
on July 11, 2007. Artur Zdrojewski,
Commander of the Polish Epidemiological
Response Center in Warsaw, Colonel Stanley
Prusinski, Chief of the Office of Defense
Cooperation, U.S. Embassy, Warsaw, and
Colonel Wlodzimierz Lewczuk, Deputy
Chief of Poland’s Military Health Services,
attended the ceremony in Warsaw which
was covered by local media. The equipment
will be used for training and operational
purposes under a variety of biological
threat conditions, including avian influenza.
More information in Polish can be found
here.
more |
| |
|
|
 |
|
U.S. and Polish Air Forces Co-host
2007 Poland Game Seminar |
|
U.S. and Polish Air Forces Co-host 2007
Poland Game Seminar |
| On
July 10-13, the United States Air Force
(USAF) and Polish Air Force co-hosted
the 2007 Poland Game Seminar as part
of the USAF Chief of Staff wargame series
titled "Unified Engagement."
General
William T. Hobbins, Commander, United
States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE),
and Major General Andrzej Błasik, Commander,
Polish Air Force, opened the seminar
in Warsaw. In addition to the United
States and Poland, participants included
delegations from the Netherlands, Sweden,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania,
Bulgaria, and Turkey. General (Ret.)
John P. Jumper, former Chief of Staff
of the USAF, served as the seminar's
senior mentor and Dr. Sam Gardner, United
States National War College, served
as lead facilitator. The objectives
of "Unified Engagement" are
to explore future challenges and possibile
joint warfighting concepts to counter
them; stimulate thinking about the demands
and benefits of future combined operations;
and develop and strengthen the relationships
and cooperation between current and
future regional air leaders. The Poland
Game Seminar was the first to be hosted
in the USAFE area of operations.
more |
|
 |
| | | |
WERSJA
POLSKA
