Oil, weapons and war

When Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński makes his way to Washington on Wednesday, the familiar issues of Poland's Visa Waiver Program status and participation in Iraq are likely to be overshadowed by defense and energy-security issues, as well as by the finalization of an agreement for a major US investment in Poland.

The Prime Minister will not be meeting with US President George Bush, who excused himself for reasons of a tight election-season schedule. However, Kaczyński is scheduled to meet with Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Discussions on the US' proposed missile-shield base is expected to top the PM's agenda. The US wants to build the shield on Polish or Czech soil, and is expected to make a decision soon on the matter - possibly during Kaczyński's visit. While some in the government believe the base could provide a needed layer of defense from unfriendly neighbors, the plan is politically unpopular.

Last week, Polish daily Rzeczpospolita reported that to make the deal more politically palatable, the PM would ask for US help in diversifying Polish sources of oil and gas, in the form of pipelines from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through the Caucasus and Turkey and up into Poland. The paper reported that Vice President Dick Cheney had already floated the proposal with the Kazakhstan president, and that American oil companies such as Chevron and Texaco supported the plan.

Sources in the Polish media have also stated that the PM will be meeting with officials from Dell, to sign a major agreement paving the way for a $200-million (zł.619-million) investment in the Łódź area, which could provide up to 12,000 jobs.