Government doubts NATO security guarantees

Due to this, while negotiating an agreement concerning the US anti-missile shield, Poland wants to sign a bilateral military agreement with the USA. "Since 1999 NATO has not been updating its defense system, among others due to the fact that there are no immediate dangers to the alliance in the region which would require such investments," Witold Waszczykowski, the Deputy Defense Minister said recently. He went on to say that the government would like to sign an agreement with the USA which would boost Poland's security. "Our agreement with the USA would weaken the alliance," said Roman Kuzniar from the International Relations Institute at Warsaw University. Former defense minister Radoslaw Sikorski however, believes that this would be a reasonable move, if it would be only an additional element to Poland's membership in NATO. Leo Michel, former director for NATO in the Pentagon, claims that a separate agreement with Poland is not necessary and it could undermine the credibility of NATO guarantees. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, A7) M.M.