The Politics and Policy of U.S. Bases in Poland: A Political-Military Analysis - NATO, History of Occupation of Poland, Communist Period, Security and Defense

The present study treats Polish-American bilateral relations in the past and present, with special concern for contemporary themes of armaments. This work seizes upon the author's experience in the U.S. Embassy, Warsaw, as well as scholarly analysis. Together with NATO allies, the United States has begun the fielding of an anti-missile system directed against Iran. By dint of policy and geography, the Republic of Poland's status as one of closest allies to the United States put it at the forefront of the candidates to host the interceptor portion of the system. In addition to the U.S. anti-missile installation, the Polish government wants significant U.S. forces stationed in Poland as a symbol of collective defense. As in other cases of the politics of forward defense in NATO in the past and present, the Poles desire an unshakable commitment to forward defense at a time of strategic retrenchment and shifts in the international system.

The modifications of the plans for the proposed bases as a result of policy, strategy and budgets were caused by changes of leadership in both the U.S. and Poland; further, such change has arisen about U.S. concerns from Russia and other European countries, to say nothing of the global economic crisis that drastically reduced the ability of the United States and its allies to maintain a defense effort in the face of sharp austerity.

CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION * A. MAJOR RESEARCH QUESTION * B. PROBLEMS AND HYPOTHESES * C. LITERATURE REVIEW * D. METHODS AND SOURCES * E. THESIS OVERVIEW * CHAPTER II - POLISH SECURITY AND DEFENSE POLICY: THE ROLES OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION * A. POLISH SECURITY AND DEFENSE HISTORY * 1. HISTORICAL ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES * 2. POLAND AND NATO * CHAPTER III - FOREIGN MILITARY BASES IN POLISH HISTORY. A. HISTORY OF OCCUPATION OF POLAND * 1. EARLY PERIOD * 2. POST WORLD WAR II PERIOD * 3. POST COMMUNIST PERIOD * 4. THE FUTURE OF FOREIGN MILITARY PRESENCE IN POLAND * CHAPTER IV - U.S. BASES IN EUROPE AND ELSEWHERE, HISTORY, BASIC ISSUES AND POLICY, AND FUTURE. A. HISTORY OF UNITED STATES OVERSEAS MILITARY BASES * 1. THE BEGINNING OF OVERSEAS PRESENCE * 2. POST WORLD WAR II ERA OF U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE ABROAD * 3. THE CONTEMPORARY DILEMMA OF U.S. OVERSEAS PRESENCE * 4. THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS * 5. THE MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM * CHAPTER V - POLISH DEFENSE POLICIES AND BASES * A. THE MODERN HISTORY OF POLISH NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY * 1. THE CONSTITUTION OF POLAND * 2. THE NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY OF POLAND * 3. THE NATIONAL DEFENSE STRATEGY OF POLAND * 4. CONTEMPORARY ISSUES OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE POLICY IN POLAND * 5. THE POLISH STRATEGIC DEFENSE REVIEW * B. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER VI - CONTEMPORARY ISSUES OF POLISH-U.S. DEFENSE AFFAIRS AND BASES * A. POLITICS OF MISSILE DEFENSE * 1. THE BUSH-ERA PLANS * 2. OBAMA-ERA PLANS * 3. THE RUSSIAN POSITION * B. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER VII - CONTEMPORARY ISSUES OF POLISH-U.S. RELATIONSHIP * A. CONTEMPORARY HISTORY OF POLISH-U.S. RELATIONS * B. DETERIORATING RELATIONSHIP * 1. POLICY * 2. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY * 3. OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA * 4. THE IMPROVEMENT OF POLISH-AMERICAN RELATIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD * CHAPTER VIII - DEFENSE EFFORTS OF THE UNITED STATES AND ITS ALLIES DURING GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS AND AUSTERITY * A. ECONOMIC CRISIS AND NATO * B. ECONOMIC CRISIS AND U.S. POLICY ON MISSILE DEFENSE * C. BURDEN SHARING IN TIMES OF AUSTERITY * D. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER IX - CONCLUSION * A. SUMMARY * 1. INITIAL PLANS * 2. THE NEW PLAN * 3. POLICY AND POLITICS * 4. REACTION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION * 5. THE WAY FORWARD * APPENDIX * LIST OF REFERENCES * INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST * FOOTNOTES