Russia attacks Sikorski on comments about U.S. troops in Poland

Opinia.US SAN FRANCISCO — A member of the Russian parliament has criticized Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski for his comments during his visit this week to Washington, but the Polish foreign ministry has disputed the accuracy of Russian news reports quoting Sikorski’s statement. READ MORE

U.S. media ignore Russia’s simulated attack on Poland

Opinia.US SAN FRANCISCO — Mirroring the Obama Administration’s diminished interest in Eastern Europe and unwillingness to challenge Russia’s aggressive foreign policy in the region, mainstream U.S. media ignored Polish and British news reports about a simulated attack on Poland, which Russian troops conducted during military exercises in Belarus in September. Polish news magazine Wprost reported that Russian aircraft practiced the use of nuclear weapons in the attacks. Wprost also reported it has obtained documents which show that the military exercises portrayed Poland as “a potential aggressor.”

Mainstream U.S. media, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, ignored this story. READ MORE

More diplomatic confusion between U.S. and Poland

Opinia.US SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. media has not yet picked up on the latest diplomatic controversy between Poland and the U.S. But the public disagreement between president Obama’s new ambassador in Warsaw Lee A. Feinstein and the Polish defense minister over plans to send additional Polish troops to Afghanistan is drawing media attention in Poland. READ MORE

Opinia.US: Little on the White House Blog about Biden in Poland

Opinia.US SAN FRANCISCO — The White House Blog had nothing specific about Vice President Biden’s visit to Poland. Biden’s national security advisor Tony Blinken wrote a general post in the White House Blog Thursday about Mr. Biden’s visit to Central Europe. He focused, however, on his boss’s visit to Romania and posted two photos from Bucharest. READ MORE

Did White House coordinate missile decision with Kremlin?

Opinia.US SAN FRANCISCO — Bloggers and Russian experts in the US have been trying to find out whether the Obama White House coordinated with the Kremlin the timing of the missile shield decision that deeply offended people in Poland and produced biting commentaries in the US. Speculations abound that Russian diplomats, working on instructions from propaganda experts within the Kremlin, tricked White House and State Department officials to get President Obama to choose September 17 to announce his cancellation of the Bush plan to build missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic. September 17, 2009 was the date of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland at the beginning of WWII. READ MORE

Sen. Voinovich criticizes Obama for public diplomacy disaster

Opinia.US SAN FRANCISCO — In a speech on the Senate floor on Thursday, Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) said he was disappointed in the manner in which President Obama’s decision to revise a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe was communicated to NATO allies, Poland and Czech Republic. Calling the handling of the missile decision a “major public relations and public diplomacy blunder,” Senator Voinovich said that announcing it on September 17, 2009, the day of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland, made it even worse. READ MORE