In a cable released by whistleblower web site Wikileaks, the  then US ambassador to Poland wrote back to the White House in March 2009 that Polish elites feared “Poland has become an afterthought, or even a nuisance in Washington circles’.

Labelled ‘confidential’, with the title - 'Are we sincere?,' the then ambassador, Victor Ashe wrote in the cable: “There is a growing fear among Polish government elites that Poland has become an afterthought, or even a nuisance, in Washington circles, and this is hard to swallow for a country that considers itself a loyal ally and important contributor to U.S. strategic interests in greater Europe and Afghanistan.”

The cable was written early into the Obama administration’s term and following the first meeting between Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski and the new US secretary of state, Hilary Clinton.

The government in Warsaw was getting anxious, reports Ambassador Ashe, to set up a meeting between Prime Minister Tusk and President Obama.

“[The Polish government] would like very much to hear back on its request for PM Tusk's visit to the White House. Privately, [Foreign Ministry] officials have told us the Prime Minister will lose credibility if he does not get a Washington visit by the end of April,” writes the ambassador back to Washington.

The cable also reports on Warsaw fears that the new US administration, which wanted to thaw, sometimes difficult relations with Russia during the Bush years, would make deals with Moscow behind Poland’s back and under pressure from Russia.

On whether Obama would cancel President Bush’s central European anti-missile shield plan - which he eventually did - the cable says:

“Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw Komorowski told acting U/S Mull in Washington in early March that "it is important to be 100 percent sure that Russia has no influence on sovereign decisions ... that would be a disaster for both of us."

On the Polish government’s fears of being left in the cold, the cable writes: “We have […] given Warsaw numerous assurances that the U.S. intends to move forward with our strategic relationship and will consult on [missile defence] but Poles are keenly aware of the lack of actual consultations -- either on the Administration's thinking on MD or dialogue as envisioned in the August 2008 Declaration on Strategic Cooperation.” (pg)

See cable here