Russia Plays Nuclear ‘War Games’ with Poland
More fallout from Obama's abandonment of Eastern Europe, as Russia stages a mock invasion of its now defenseless neighbor.
November 6, 2009 - by Kim Zigfeld
You can probably be forgiven for having missed it — what with all the pulse-pounding excitement of gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey, to say nothing of the World Series — but Russia invaded Poland. Again. This time, no more Mr. Nice Guy.
A barrage of nuclear missiles was fired into the defenseless country from Russia proper, while Russian tanks rolled out of Kaliningrad to seize key ports on the Polish coast and sabotage a major gas pipeline. Reports indicate it made Hitler’s blitzkrieg look like a tea party.
It was “only” war games, of course, but the potential implications are perhaps even more dire than those of the actual Russian tanks that rolled into Georgia last year because of the circumstances under which the “games” took place.
Though the reports only surfaced this week, the invasion actually occurred in September, just as Barack Obama was announcing the unilateral discontinuation of a proposed ballistic missile defense system for Poland. And given Russia’s demonstrated willingness to use military force in Georgia, who can say when the Polish “games” will also become reality?
That’s not all. As Polish parliamentarian Marek Opiola reminded:
It’s an attempt to put us in our place. Don’t forget all this happened on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland.
Meanwhile, Russia simultaneously carried out a real test launch of a nuclear missile from a submarine in the Barents Sea.
As Ariel Cohen of the Heritage Foundation writes:
President Obama biggest non-symbolic mistake came when he sacrificed his ace card, the Bush-era missile defense plan against Iran, which was supposed to be deployed in Poland and the Czech Republic. Warsaw and Prague are still fuming about Washington’s lack of reliability, but in the new Obama foreign policy era, adversaries often get kid-glove treatment while allies are taken for granted.
Not only did Russia refuse to reciprocate Obama’s unilateral gesture by supporting sanctions against Iran, it began practicing the use of missiles against a now defenseless Poland. Obama has alienated and panicked all of Eastern Europe while reaping nothing in terms of improved relations with Russia. Instead, he’s convinced the Russians they may do as they please. It’s hard to imagine how Obama’s reckless gambit could have failed more spectacularly.
Over at Hot Air, Michael Van Der Galien asks the obvious question:
Could someone please explain to me why Russia would simulate such an attack, if it has no plans whatsoever of attacking Poland? As far as I can tell, the only other possible explanation is that Moscow wants Warsaw to fear it.
But there’s a more important question. Can someone please tell me why Obama would ignore such a simulation if he has no plans to acquiesce in the erection of a new Iron Curtain across Europe? As far as I can tell, the only other possible explanation is that he didn’t even know it happened.
Some leftists feel the fall of the USSR and Warsaw Pact was a big mistake. I suspect Obama thinks Poland etc all really ought to "belong" the Soviet Union or in its absence, Russia.
Poland at least has the theoretical protection of the NATO alliance. What may be of more value, however, is the simple fact that Russia’s first priorities lie elsewhere. Cohen points out that Russia is currently engaged in an aggressive propaganda campaign seeking to deny the right of Georgia and Ukraine to exist as independent countries. What’s most terrifying about these developments is that we now know the people of Russia support them. The Moscow Times reports:
Polls appear to illustrate a rise in nationalism in Russia. While only 26 percent of respondents in 1991 said Russia should be for Russians, 54 percent said the same in the recent poll. The two polls also saw a 10 percentage point rise to 47 percent of respondents who said it is natural for Russia to have an empire. Fifty-eight percent of Russians in the new poll agreed that it is a great misfortune that the Soviet Union no longer exists.
The Soviet Union, of course, marched thousands of captured Polish officers into the Katyn forest in the waning days of World War II and shot them in cold blood, one of the greatest crimes in the annals of military history. We once had the comfort of imagining that the people of Russia were as much the victim of their Soviet overlords as we were. We have that comfort no longer.
Nor do we have a president, like Reagan, Nixon, or even Kennedy, who understands the threat we face in Russia. Just as in Soviet times, for instance, failed Kremlin polices are leading droves of Russian scientists to flee the country to greener pastures, and there are already signs that the Kremlin is moving to restrict their freedom to do so. We must not forget that the Iron Curtain was as much to keep Russians in as to keep Westerners out.
Russia is ruled by a KGB spy. It is establishing a one-party state through shamelessly rigged elections. It is manifesting clear imperialist designs on its near abroad, and it is wiping out individual freedom at home. Let’s not forget: Russia is not only targeting Poland for war games, but the United States as well. Books of poems for children about the “great leader” Vladimir Putin are being published. Opposition leaders are being wiped out at a pace that makes the Soviet killers look like slackers. The only differences between today’s Russia and that of three decades ago are accounted for simply by Russian economic weakness, the inability to afford the most expensive totalitarian excesses.
But the price of oil is rising once again and will rise still further if the global economy recovers. With no resistance from the American White House — much less leadership — Putin is free to dream very big dreams indeed.
Dreams the size of Poland.
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