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To: Lost1 who wrote (14)	5/31/2003 7:21:33 PM
From: Lost1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45

Blunt Bush greets Europe On first leg of foreign tour, president praises Poland and jabs France over stands on Iraq By Bob Deans WASHINGTON BUREAU Saturday, May 31, 2003 KRAKOW, Poland -- Vowing to "remember who our friends are," President Bush signaled Friday that Poland might receive new NATO bases as a reward for backing the U.S.-led war in Iraq. By contrast, Bush made clear that French opposition to the war had cut a deep wound in Franco-American relations. "Let me be realistic," Bush said in an interview with European journalists. "There is a sense of frustration and disappointment amongst the American people toward the French decision." Bush also chided the French for trying "to bully" Poland into backing off of its support for the war by threatening to block this country's prospective admission to the European Union. The unusually blunt remarks underscored the extent to which lingering tensions over Iraq threaten to color Bush's first foreign tour since the war. Bush arrived in this historic city in southern Poland on Friday night, kicking off a weeklong trip that will take him to Russia, France and the Middle East. Today, Bush will lay wreaths at nearby Auschwitz and Birkenau, a pair of former Nazi concentration camps where more than 1.1 million Jews, Gypsies and others were killed during World War II. Later, in a speech in Krakow, Bush plans to evoke the horrors of the Holocaust to remind the world of the modern challenges of combating the sort of terrorist groups behind the Sept. 11 attacks against the United States. "I'm going to Auschwitz to see firsthand one of the greatest lessons of the past -- that there's evil in this world and that the only way to deal with the evil is together," Bush said in an interview with European reporters. "All of us must work together to make sure that kind of evil never happens again to anybody." This evening, Bush travels to St. Petersburg, Russia, where President Vladimir Putin will play host to several dozen heads of state for celebrations marking the 300th anniversary of Russia's second-largest city. Putin joined French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in leading efforts to block support for a U.N. resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq in March. But Bush said that he and Putin continue to have "a good relationship," cemented by agreements to reduce U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals and to scrap a Cold War accord to make way for the deployment of a missile defense system. "If we had a poisonous relationship, it would be awfully difficult to convince others in our governments to work closely together," Bush said. "In spite of our disagreements over what happened in Iraq . . . our relationship is strong." Bush and Putin will meet privately Sunday before they head for France and the summit of leading industrialized nations. A decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States and its NATO partners are reviewing the composition of military bases across Europe. A U.S. goal is to broaden and diversify the military capabilities of an alliance that for decades has relied on heavy deployments in Britain and Germany. Poland is one of several central European countries to have joined NATO since the end of the Cold War. Poland recently agreed to buy 48 U.S.-built F-16 fighter jets and is in line for a new NATO air base as part of the reshuffling of alliance operations. "I make no promises, but we will remember who our friends are," Bush said in a separate interview with Polish television. "And the Polish people have been strong friends of the United States. And for that, we are very grateful." Chirac, who will host Bush at the annual Group of Eight summit of leaders on Sunday and Monday in Evian, France, publicly scolded Poland last winter for its support for military action against Iraq. Chirac also warned that Poland's position could hurt its prospects for admission to the European Union. "I think it's unfortunate that some of the countries in Europe will try to bully Poland for standing up for what you think," said Bush. "Poland needs to be in the EU." Poland provided intelligence information and a small group of special forces troops to the U.S. efforts in Iraq. Poland is dispatching more than 8,000 troops for peacekeeping operations there. After the summit in France, Bush heads to the Middle East to try to revive the long-stalled peace process. bdeans@coxnews.com