President Kwaśniewski in Krynica defends war on Hussian as necessary

President Aleksander Kwaśniewski told a press conference during the 13th annual Economic Forum in Krynica that he did not agree with members of the public who were against the war in Iraq. He also added that Poland would do anything necessary to strengthen the bond between Europe and North America. Kwaśniewski stated that Poland could not wait until someone else would deal with the threat of Saddam Hussain. He claimed that Iraqis are now beginning to lead a better life without the dictator. Kwaśniewski's statements were an answer to yesterday article by Jacek Kuroń in Życie Warszawy, in which he called the war a "disgraceful fuss". Kwaśniewski also claimed that the division of Europe into an "old" and "new" one after the recent war was unnecessary. "We are all members of old Europe," explained Kwaśniewski. He expressed an opinion that after entering the EU, Poland would benefit more than contribute to the EU budget. "I am sure that Poland would do everything possible to make the best use of EU funds," he said. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B3) M.M. In Brief: Israeli F-15's fly over Oświęcim; Post 1945 German expulsions; Three Israeli F-15 fighters flew over the former concentration camp in Oświęcim in order to pay tribute to all nations murdered by the Nazis there. "A fighter plane is not a dove of peace," said the camp's museum director Jerzy Wróblewski. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 8) .. Pat Cox, the leader of the European Parliament, plans to meet with Polish Deputies and convince them that his words of "great lawlessness" describing the expulsions of Germans from Poland after the Second World War was a translation mistake. "We expect him to announce that in his opinion resettlements were legal," said Marcin Libicki from Law and Justice. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A3) ... Due to next year's EU accession, Poland will introduce visas for citizens of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, an agreement with Russia is almost ready and should be signed shortly after September 20. It envisages special discounts for youths and pensioners, as well as people visiting the graves of their family members. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 6) M.M.