Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski presented a lecture at the University of Warsaw, Tuesday evening, entitled “Afghanistan – why it is worth winning” in which he defended Poland’s engagement in the NATO mission.

The minister recounted his own memories of working in Afghanistan as a journalist for British press in the 1980s before touching upon the necessity of the current NATO mission in the country.

Minister Sikorski stated that Poland has a responsibility, as a member of NATO, to take part in the organization’s missions.

“We wanted to join NATO, and now, ten years later, it would be hypocritical of us to not want to engage in the Organization’s actions. It is our responsibility as a member of the alliance – we seek security and we also have the ability to provide it,” stated Radek Sikorski.

The foreign minister, amidst a crowd of professors, students and anti-war demonstrators, maintained the stance that it would also be irresponsible of Poland to pull out of a conflict that has not been won and leave the country in chaos.

“Additionally, Poland has the opportunity to win contracts and contribute to the reconstruction process, particularly in the Ghazni region [southeast Afghanistan] where our troops are. But first, we must ensure the physical safety of citizens against violence from the Taliban,” added the minister.

Minister Sikorski joins esteemed predecessors who have given the lecture at Warsaw University, including foreign policy adviser under US President Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and the now-deceased ex-Foreign Minister of Poland, Professor Bronislaw Geremek.

Poles win over locals with softly-softly approach

Meanwhile, the UK Guardian reports that Polish troops who now control the ever more dangerous Ghazni province are winning over some of the locals there with their shoot-last policy. Colonel Rajmund Andrzejczak told the newspaper:

"After a couple of operations, we realised the less aggressive we were the more effective we were. I recommend not so many troops knocking down doors every night, but instead to sit down and drink tea, discuss what the people need, and bring them closer to the coalition.”

The reference to knocking on doors alludes to actions by US special forces, who have angered local people with house raids in the dead of night where they kick down doors and act with little respect for tradition and custom. (mmj/pg)