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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Paper Army. Poland's militaristic plans turn into window dressing |
| 2023-04-27 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [REGNUM] The “Poles are building an army for war with Russia” angle of view distorts a much more complex picture, where historical hatred of Germany is in the first place. Polish plans are based on the simple fact that the main enemy and oppressor (who is also the main sponsor of Poland within the EU) has not been so weak since 1945. Posters with beautiful soldiers in formidable poses have noticeably increased in Poland over the past year; at every post office they are already at the entrance offering visitors to sign up for a contract in the army. The government constantly involves citizens in a variety of military training programs, including for children, spends huge sums on weapons production programs, constantly conducts exercises and actively helps Ukraine. Therefore, the increase in the Polish Army to 200,000 people announced by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in the autumn did not come as a surprise to the Poles. Once again, PiS has announced plans to create Europe's largest army of 300,000, and this goal is one of the pillars of the election campaign. “The Polish army will need two more years, and then it will become the strongest land army in Europe,” Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said a few days ago in an interview with Polish Radio . About the same thing was stated a year ago by PiS President Yaroslav Kaczynski , who served as Deputy Prime Minister for Security: 250,000 operational personnel and 50,000 territorial defense troops. According to Kaczynski, quoted by Gazeta Wyborcza, the war in Ukraine could end with "some kind of compromise" and "so our country must have forces ready to repel the attack." Thus, Polish politicians are trying on the very role that Ukrainian politicians have been talking about on all television broadcasts for the previous eight years: to be the defenders of Europe. Only unlike the latter, the Poles seriously claim leadership in the EU, considering the "Ukrainian brothers" only as expendable material. BIG AMBITIONS The “Poles are building an army for war with Russia” angle of view distorts a much more complex picture, where historical hatred of Germany is in the first place. Polish plans are based on the simple fact that the main enemy and oppressor (who is also the main sponsor of Poland within the EU) has not been so weak since 1945. This, in particular, explains the impudence with which the Germans are required to pay reparations for the Second World War, when even the Council of Europe has submitted a draft resolution on granting Polish citizens the right to seek individual compensation from Germany through the courts. After the shutdown of the Nord Streams, the massive influx of migrants living off social benefits, the relocation of large industries to the United States, the shutdown of nuclear power generation, and also due to the constant large expenditures for the needs of the European Union, the standard of living in Germany fell sharply. Accordingly, the opportunities have fallen. Back in 2019 and 2020, Bundestag Commissioner for Defense Affairs Hans-Peter Bartels called them the weakest in its history in the annual report on the state of the armed forces. In the Bundeswehr, there is a shortage of personnel, equipment is not being modernized, new things are not being introduced. At the same time, the Germans, faithful to the rules, regularly supplied the Ukrainian army - to their own detriment. As a result, the German combat effectiveness and the ability to fulfill their obligations in NATO turned out to be a big question. Poland has become the main military hub, actively earns money on the war and quite openly works as the main US agent in the region, even hoping to switch to American weapons. Her ambitions are quite readable for anyone with some knowledge of Polish history. To the east are the Baltic countries with their existential fear of Russia and the experience of living together in the first Rzeczpospolita. Here is Ukraine, whose western (from the Ukrainian point of view) territories are considered an integral part of Poland. In the west, there is a weakened Germany, which should be taken under its wing as a weaker state and commanded, replacing it, among other things, in NATO. For example, in an alliance with the French, who, on the contrary, have always been allies of Poland and in 1939 even pretended to help her defend herself from a German attack. From the height of their worldview, the Poles even shout at their EU neighbors who said something politically incorrect on the Ukrainian issue or who are not zealously sending military equipment to Ukraine. At the same time, one should not think that with its theoretically large army, Poland will attack someone and share something. “Today's goal of Warsaw is not so much to physically annex the lands, but to politically seize influence and power on them, so that the local government is loyal and lobbies the necessary interests. That is, formally it is a protectorate over Ukraine: a dependence in which the supreme administration in the country formally retains its state structure, ” says Kristina Ismagilova , the author of the Warsaw Mermaid telegram channel. However, the same knowledge of Polish history suggests that an incredible sense of self-importance always leads Poland into unpleasant situations. In this case, there are also significant difficulties with the role of the defender of Europe's borders from "threats from the East". HAT NOT ACCORDING TO PSHEMEK Since 2015, the Polish Army has grown from 95,000 to 167,000 soldiers, this is an absolute fact. However, military service in general is not a dream for Poles for the simple reason that the average salary in the army, together with allowances, is 7,976 zlotys (about 156,000 rubles - REGNUM). And the actual minimum wage for an ordinary soldier who started his service is 4,960 złoty (97,000 rubles), which is not much more than the income of a school teacher. At the same time, official reports do not indicate whether it is about the amounts of "gross" (without taxes) or "net" (on hand). Of course, there is a system of allowances and bonuses, but recently 19,000 people, mostly experienced soldiers, have gone into civilian life. This is the biggest wave of layoffs since 2015, and the reason for it was the last opportunity to receive a pension after 15 years of service. Those who got on it since January 1, 2013, PiS has already doomed to 25 years of service to the Motherland. And in principle, she lives very poorly: two-thirds of those working in Poland earn less than 6 thousand zlotys (the average salary in the economy). Last year, the head of the Government Think Tank, Norbert Maliszewski, published statistics showing that the same half of the population earns even less than PLN 4,500 gross. To understand the tragedy, utility bills for a small two-room apartment during the heating season are PLN 800-1000 per month. But in a situation where the standard of living of the population is rapidly falling (and Germany can no longer give as much money as before), white eagles from the government generously feed Ukraine with iron. “During the year, military and civilian equipment worth 60 billion euros was sent to Ukraine. What is the effect? In 2022, the "inflation tax" in Poland amounted to at least PLN 150 billion, with tax outflows of PLN 454 billion. In our opinion, this tax eats up people not only salaries, but also reduces all assets in banks. In fact, the wallets of citizens are empty,” says Polish political scientist Daniel Mikusek . It is quite logical that the Poles are looking for work in other countries, having dispersed en masse to Sweden, the Netherlands, Britain and the same Germany. Their labor niche, in fact, is occupied by Ukrainian immigrants, whom the Polish authorities keep in various ways in hard and dirty work with minimal income. Thus, enough soldiers for the “most powerful army in Europe” can simply not be recruited: you won’t raise money there, but you will lose your health. As for rearmament, it also costs a pretty penny. For example, the cost of the contract for the supply of 32 F-35A fighters was $4.6 billion, which includes the training of Polish pilots, the supply of flight simulators, as well as logistical support. But this is all for later: pilot training will begin in 2024 in the United States, Poland will receive the first aircraft in 2026. And right now, NATO must protect the peaceful skies ... German soldiers serving the Patriot complexes on the eastern border of Poland. In addition, the air base in Malbork will house eight F-35 fighters, which are donated by the Dutch government. “Poland can look like a strong military power only by taking military equipment on lease, on loan, in some other way - it doesn’t matter. The main thing is how it looks from the outside and in the reports ,” notes Kristina Ismagilova. Constant maneuvers and exercises involving units of NATO countries also show a beautiful picture. Meanwhile, as the former commander of the Armed Forces in 2015-2016, General Miroslav Ruzhansky , publicly says, the increase in the Polish Army is mainly due to additions and exaggerations. “30% of the volunteers did not even reach the oath on the twenty-eighth day of service. Then there was an eleven-month period of specialized training, for which only 40% applied. This project did not work," quotes the words Ruzhansky Gazeta Wyborcza. So, most likely, in the theoretically possible case of a big war in Poland, the events of 80 years ago will be repeated. Then pouting, claims to control the destinies of Europe and the seizure of the territory of neighbors ended in a quick defeat and surrender in a month. But even without war, Greater Poland, which rules the European Union, exists only in the fantasies of members of the ruling party. But success in the political absorption of Western Ukraine and leadership among the Baltic dwarfs is quite within the reach of the Poles. April 26, 2023 Denis Davydov |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #2 How much window dressing do they need to cover for their highly guarded nuclear program? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2023-04-27 16:07 |
| #1 ... Dear Denis - May I call you Denis? Spasibo, tovarich - Here's the thing: Eighty-eight years ago, your leaders didn't have the balls to invade Poland until you were sure they were defeated by the Nazis, and we know now that the Niemecki had a lot harder time of it than history tells us. Then you stabbed them in the back. Forty-two years ago, your leaders didn't dare invade Poland to keep them in the Warsaw Pact, because you knew that if you came west again...well, you might win in the end, but you would be ruling over a graveyard, and a good proportion of those graves would be Russian. I've watched your country now for forty-five years, man and boy, and one thing I gotta tell you - you only talk this way when you're nervous...or scared. And this time, I don't blame you one tiny bit. The Polish words for 'Never Again' are 'Nigdy Wiecej'. I strongly suggest you and your leaders learn to recognize them. Best, Mike |
| Posted by: MikeKozlowski 2023-04-27 14:23 |