General Cieniuch visits the United States

Ambassador hosts webchat on U.S. elections

Ambassador Feinstein traveled to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany for briefings from General Mark Welsh and his team on the opening of the U.S. aviation detachment at ?ask air base near ?ód? later this year. He also toured the newly opened Command and Control, Battle Management and Communication (C2BMC) system, a critical component of NATO’s joint missile defense system that represents an important step toward 2018, when Poland will host the third phase of the European Phased, Adaptive Approach (EPAA) to missile defense.

The Ambassador returned to Poland to welcome a Congressional delegation led by Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois, who was joined by Representaive Mike Quigley from Chicago. Over the course of four days, they visited Patriot missile batteries in Toru? and flew over the future NATO missile defense site in Redzikowo. In Warsaw, they met with President Komorowski, former President Wa??sa, Foreign Minister Sikorski and other Polish dignitaries. Senator Kirk and Representative Quigley are among the sponsors of legislation that would permit visa-free travel from Poland to the United States. They are great friends of Poland, and we wish Senator Kirk a speedy recovery.

General Mieczyslaw Cieniuch, Chief of the General Staff of Polish Armed Forces, traveled to the United States in late January as a guest of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey. Coming up, six Polish parliamentarians from different political parties will travel to NATO Headquarters in Brussels from February 12-14 to receive detailed briefings on NATO operations, the mission in Afghanistan, and missile defense cooperation.

Ambassador Feinstein met with Minister of Science and Higher Education Barbara Kudrycka to discuss the Top 500 Innovators program, an ambitious initiative that sends early- and mid-career Polish scientists to the United States for a two-month training program on transferring scientific research into commercial innovation.

Later this month, Kristine Svinicki, Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, will visit Warsaw to discuss nuclear regulatory issues and ways to improve cooperation between the United States and Poland. During her stay, she will meet officials at the Polish Atomic Energy Agency and take a tour of the Maria nuclear research reactor in ?wierk. Commissioner Svinicki’s trip provides yet another occasion for Poles and Americans to work together to expand our energy partnership. In the last two years, Poland and the United States have concluded three agreements to deepen our energy cooperation.

The Embassy hosted a live webchat about elections in the United States. Journalists, scholars and government officials gathered to hear from two seasoned American political consultants, Democrat Gary Nordlinger, and Republican Anne Stone.

Ambassador Feinstein hosted Ben Scott, Policy Advisor for Innovation at the U.S. State Department.  Speaking to an audience of presidents of top online media platforms, marketing executives, and online journalists, Scott spoke about the role of new technologies in foreign policy and supporting democracy. Scott also met with the Minister of Science and Higher Education to discuss cooperation for the forthcoming U.S.-Polish business summit.

Democracy is more than a process or technology. It’s also a set of values. We commemorate past injustices – such as the 70th anniversary of the Roma liquidation in ?ód?, to which we sent an Embassy representative; our recent screening of Let Poland Be Poland, co-organized with Dom Spotka? z Histori?; and a commemoration ceremony Ambassador Feinstein attended at the Umschlagplatz Memorial on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day – and remind ourselves what happens when democratic values are thrown aside.  We also take on today’s challenges, such as fighting for equal rights for women. Whether it’s through mentoring programs or the recent screening of Miss Representation we co-organized with Wysokie Obcasy, the Embassy is working side-by-side with Poles to further this important work.

Kicking off cultural activities in 2012, on January 10 the Ambassador hosted a reception and exhibit of photographer Tomasz Tomaszewski’s work at his residence. Later this year, Tomaszewski and his wife, Malgorzata Niezabitowska, will travel to the United States on  a new photography project, supported by the Embassy, entitled “Discovering America: A Generation Later,” in which they will revisit sites they captured in their acclaimed 1987 series “Discovering America.” An exhibit of original photographs is on display in the Ambassador’s residence.  The John Cage Year also got off to a great start in Lublin, where a series of workshops, performances, and conferences will commemorate this pioneering American musician in the centennial year of his birth. These are just some of the activities Ambassador Feinstein highlighted when he met with Minister of Culture Zbigniew Zdrojewski last month.