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MAY 2008 |
Volume III
Issue 5 |
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From the
Ambassador |
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Ambassador
Victor
Ashe
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Greetings from
Warsaw!
April was an incredibly busy
month for Embassy Warsaw, with many activities
centered on the 65th anniversary of the Warsaw
Ghetto Uprising of 1943 and commemorations of the
tragedy of the Holocaust. |
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U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael
Chertoff led a Presidential Delegation to the
ceremony in Warsaw commemorating the 65th
Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on April
15. The delegation included Phyllis
Heideman, a Presidential appointee to the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council, David
Mitzner, who worked in the Polish underground as a
courier between the Russian and German occupied
zones, helping people flee the Nazis, as well as
reuniting families until he was caught by the
Russians and spent eight years in a labor camp,
and Bill Lowenberg, an Auschwitz and Dachau
survivor. I joined them in the main events
on the 15th, and in honoring Marek Edelman, the
last living leader of the Warsaw Ghetto
Uprising.
Also mid-month, nineteen Members of the U.S.
Congress sent a letter to Prime Minister Tusk
thanking him for his commitment to advance the
issue of private property restitution in Poland,
which is an important of bringing the last chapter
of the Holocaust to an end. Then, on April
22, H. R. 3320, which is the bill making its way
through Congress that would provide $5 million for
the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw
was reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee.
Finally, on May 1, I joined thousands of
students and citizens at Auschwitz Nazi Death Camp
for the March of the Living, which is held each
year to honor and remember the victims of the
Holocaust. We marched silently the
three-kilometer distance separating the Nazi death
camps of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau in
a very moving event. Our Ambassador to
Hungary, April Foley, was there too.
Of course, we engaged in the whole range of
U.S.-Polish bilateral issues in April. Early
in the month the Department of Commerce’s Deputy
Assistant Secretary Paul Dyck and the Department
of State’s Special Representative Frank Mermoud
came to Poland for the ongoing Economic/Commercial
Dialogue to discuss the whole range of bilateral
trade and investment issues. At the end of
the month, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Economy Waldemar Pawlak went to Washington, DC
where he met with Secretary of Commerce Gutierrez
to continue discussing the key issues in the
Dialogue.
Also in April, I signed with Minister of Labor
and Social Policy Jolanta Fedak the U.S.-Poland
Totalization Agreement which will allow for the
combining of the Polish and U.S. Social Security
coverages, eliminating double taxation and
protecting workers and their families’ right to
Social Security benefits even if they reside
outside of the United States. This agreement
has been a long-time coming, and I’m hopeful it
soon will be sent to Congress to that people can
benefit from their hard work in Poland and the
United States.
We continued our important missile defense
outreach campaign with a tour in Brussels and the
UK of NATO offices and facilities for six Polish
parliamentarians. The focus of the trip was
to provide background on the European missile
defense basing proposal and its relation to
NATO. The group received briefings in both
countries and visited the U.S. military facility
at RAF Alconbury to learn about the impact of a
small military facility on the community.
I welcomed Wodzimierz Sniecikowski, Mayor of
Gostynin, Tadeusz Truskolaski, Mayor of Bialystok,
and Piotr Jakubowski, Mayor of Mikolajki to
the Embassy on April 9. I had met each of
the three mayors during my travels throughout
Poland. I appreciated that all three, who
were in Warsaw for various reasons, took the
opportunity to come by and update me on current
issues in their respective cities.
I also had the chance to meet Tom and Lucille
Ryan; Tom worked at the U.S. Embassy from 1980 to
1982, and was instrumental in helping Col. Ryszard
Kukliński escape to the United States in
1981. Kukliński was a Polish army officer
who, after the December 1970 massacre of Polish
workers in Gdynia by communist forces, passed top
secret Warsaw Pact documents to the U.S.
government between 1971 and 1981. Ryan
returned to Warsaw to attend a ceremony at the
World Union of Home Army Veterans on April 30
honoring Kukliński and his widow, Joanna.
Finally, in mid-April Pam Quanrud became Deputy
Chief of Mission at the Embassy. Ms. Quanrud
came to the Embassy from her recent post as
Economic Counselor in Moscow. We are already
off to a great start and I look forward to
continuing our important work in Poland
together. I’d also like to once again thank
Mary Curtin, for her outstanding work as DCM for
two months this winter.
As always, I appreciate your insight and
feedback on the Embassy newsletter, and hope to
continue to receive your thoughts. I will
always respond to you if you send me a message at
AsheVH@state.gov.
I personally read and respond to all messages.
Sincerely Yours, Victor Ashe |
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Upcoming
Events |
| Journalist and Author
Andrew Nagorski To Visit
Warsaw |
| Andrew
Nagorski, senior editor of Newsweek
International and the first editor-in-chief of
Newsweek Polska, will visit Warsaw May 14-18 for
the publication of the Polish edition of his
latest book “The Greatest Battle: Stalin,
Hitler, and the Desperate Struggle for Moscow
That Changed the Course of World War II”. While
in town, he will also speak for Polish audiences
at the Ambassador’s Residence and Warsaw
University. Nagorski played a big role in
launching Newsweek Russia in 2004 and Newsweek
Polska in 2001. He has served as Newsweek bureau
chief in Warsaw, Moscow, Bonn, and Rome.
Nagorski continues to write reviews and
commentaries for Newsweek International. He has
been honored three times by the Overseas Press
Club for his reporting. |
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| Polish Radio Orchestra
Repeats Popular Concert of Disney
Music |
| The
Polish Radio Orchestra will again perform an
evening of Disney Music under the title
“Magiczna Musika” (Magical Music) on May 27. The
free concerts will take place at 17:00 and 19:30
at the Sala Kongresowa in the Palace of Culture.
The concerts will take place under Ambassador
Ashe’s patronage and with support from the
Public Affairs Section. |
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| Poznan High School Hosting
American Poetry Reading
Competition |
| Zespol
Szkol Budownictwa Nr. 1 in Poznan will host its
3rd annual English literature competition June
2-4 under the patronage of Ambassador Ashe. High
school students from throughout Western Poland
will compete in poetry readings in this
increasingly popular event, which last year
focused on American science fiction. The top
students will again receive awards from the
American Embassy and be invited to visit the
Embassy for a special Meet America
program. |
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| Ambassador to Open Newest
Young Learners Resource Center in
Bialystok |
| Ambassador Ashe will join Bialystok city
officials and educators in opening the latest
Young Learners Resource Center (YLRC) for
supporting elementary school teachers of
English. The U.S. Mission has previously opened
YLRCs in Warsaw and Wroclaw and will open two
more in Lodz and Szczecin in the coming months.
The YLRCs provide free resources, workshops, and
tools for English teachers to develop lesson
plans and materials for their
classes. |
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Embassy
News |
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Ambassador Hosts Irena Sendler Award
Winners and Nominees at Reception
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Ambassador Hosts Irena
Sendler Award Winners and Nominees at
Reception |
| Ambassador Victor Ashe congratulated the
winners of this year’s Irena Sendler Award for
teachers of Holocaust and tolerance issues at
reception April 30. The winners were announced
to the public today at a ceremony at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ambassador’s
reception was held to honor the winners: Anna
Janina Kloza of Poland and Andrew Beiter of the
United States. Anna Klozais a Polish teacher in
High School No. 6 in Bialystock, who not only
teaches her students about the Holocaust and
tolerance but trains other teachers how to do
so. She has also been the target of a hate
Internet site because of the work she is doing.
[more] |
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Ambassador Ashe Participates in March of
the Living in
Auschwitz | |
Ambassador Ashe
Participates in March of the Living in
Auschwitz |
| U.S.
Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe and Consul
Stephen Barneby of the U.S. Consulate General in
Krakow joined thousands of students from around
the world in the annual March of the Living on
May 1 at the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz.
U.S. Ambassador to Hungary April Foley and Naval
Commander Tom Williamson also took part in the
event. The March of the Living, which is also
known as The March of Remembrance and Hope, is
held each year to honor and remember the victims
of the Holocaust. Participants march silently
the three-kilometer distance separating the Nazi
death camps of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz
II-Birkenau, located in southern Poland. This
was the seventeenth time the March has been
held. [more] |
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Embassy Official Speaks at High Schools
in Przedborz, Radomsko
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Embassy Official Speaks at
High Schools in Przedborz,
Radomsko |
| Deputy
Press Attache Chris Snipes spoke to high school
students in Przedborz and Radomsko in Lodzkie
Province about U.S. culture values and how they
are frequently reflected in American films on
April 28. After his first presentation, Mr.
Snipes spent a full hour answering questions
about U.S. culture in Przedborz, where the 15
students' English language skills are very high.
They asked questions about the U.S. education
system, when teenagers learn to drive, what the
most popular music is in the United States, as
well as whether Americans learn European history
and geography, and what their attitude is toward
learning foreign languages. [more] |
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Pamela
Quanrud | |
Ambassador Ashe Welcomes
new Deputy Chief of Mission to
Embassy |
| “Pamela
Quanrud has assumed the position of Deputy Chief
of Mission of the American Embassy in Warsaw
effective April 28,” Ambassador Ashe announced
today. She succeeds Ken Hillas and Mary Curtin.
“Pam Quanrud brings extensive experience in the
American foreign service and I am delighted she
is here. She will be an effective and able DCM,”
Ashe said. [more] |
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Depiction of Future Museum of History of
Polish Jews
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Bill to Fund Museum of
History of Polish Jews Reported Out of
Committee |
| On
April 22, 2008, H. R. 3320, an Act to provide
assistance for the Museum of the History of
Polish Jews in Warsaw was ordered to be reported
out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
favorably with an amendment added during the
mark-up. The Bill would provide $5 million
toward development and construction of the
museum. [more] |
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State Department
seal | |
Kupiecki Presents Letter of
Credence to State Department
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| Polish
Ambassador-designate to the United States Robert
Kupiecki presented his letter of credence to
Acting Undersecretary of State for Political
Affairs Dan Fried in Washington, DC on April 22.
This letter formally grants diplomatic
accreditation to Mr. Kupiecki to be the Polish
Ambassador to the United States. [more] |
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Jennifer
Holder
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Embassy Warsaw Co-sponsors
Conference on Innovative Teaching Methods
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| The
U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, together with the
National In-Service Teacher Training Center and
the Young Learners Resource Center in Warsaw
organized a conference on April 14 on innovative
English teaching methods for elementary teachers
of grades1 to 6. Acting Deputy Chief of Mission,
Mary Curtin, spoke at the opening of the
conference about the U.S. Embassy English
teaching program and the development of a new
network of Young Learners Resource Centers in
Poland. [more] |
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Polish
Parliamentarians at NATO
Headquarters
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NATO Tour for Polish
Parliamentarians Focuses on Missile Defense
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| The
U.S. Embassy's Press Attaché Andrew Schilling
accompanied six Polish parliamentarians to
Brussels and the United Kingdom on a four-day
tour of NATO offices and facilities from April
14 to 17. The focus of the trip was to provide
background on the European missile defense
basing proposal and its relation to NATO. The
stop in the UK allowed members to visit the U.S.
military facility at RAF Alconbury and hear
briefings from local officials about the impact
of such a facility on the community. Other
briefings at JCF Headquarters in Brunnsum
provided an overview of NATO’s command and
operating structure and details of NATO’s ISAF
operations in Afghanistan. [more] |
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Ambassador Ashe with members of the
Polish National Agricultural
Chamber
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Ambassador Ashe Meets
Agricultural Leaders After Their U.S. Study Trip
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| On
April 17, 2008, Ambassador Victor Ashe hosted a
reception at his residence for members of
Poland’s National Farm Chamber. The ambassador
was joined by representatives from the Ministry
of Agriculture, Polish parliamentarians,
agri-food companies as well as members of the
foreign diplomatic community. The reception was
organized for the members of Poland’s National
Farm Chamber who recently returned from a visit
to the United States. The trip was joint effort
by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture as well as Poland’s
Ministry of Agriculture for chamber members to
visit various agriculture related sites in the
United States. [more] |
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Polish
Generals Begin Distinguished Visitor Orientation
Tour in
Washington, DC
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Polish Generals Begin Distinguished
Visitor Orientation Tour in Washington, DC
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| Lieutenant Colonel Ray Wojcik, Deputy
Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation, Warsaw,
this weekend escorted a group of eight Polish
officers, led by Brigadier General Janusz
Bojarski, Director of the Department of
Personnel, Ministry of National Defense, as they
began a two-week visit to the United States as
part of a Distinguished Visitor Orientation
which is sponsored by the U.S. International
Military Education and Training Program. The
team consists of six generals – representing the
Ministry of Defense, Land Forces, Air Force and
General Staff – as well as the Sergeant Major of
the Land Forces. [more] |
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General
David Petraeus, left, and Ambassador Ryan
Crocker, third from right, congratulate those
who lent assistance.
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Polish Ambassador to Iraq Honors U.S.
Security Officers |
| On
January 25, Poland’s ambassador to Iraq, Edward
Pietrzyk, honored the heroism of 18 members of
the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad’s regional security
office who helped rescue his motorcade when it
came under attack in Baghdad in October. The
motorcade was struck by four roadside bombs and
a barrage of small-arms fire from more than two
dozen assailants. One member of the Polish
Special Forces security detail was killed,
several were wounded and Pietrzyk was severely
burned. [more] |
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Letter
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U.S. Representatives Thank Tusk on
Restitution |
| A group
of 19 Members of the U.S. Congress, led by Rep.
Robert Wexler (D-FL), Chairman, Subcommittee on
Europe of the House Committee on Foreign
Affairs, and Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Ranking
Member, Subcommittee on Europe, sent a letter to
Prime Minister Tusk thanking him for his
commitment to advance the issue of private
property resititution in Poland. In the letter,
the represetatives urged Prime Minister Tusk to
ensure that legislation provide non-citizens of
Poland the ability to submit claims for property
restitution and compensation. They underscore
that this legislation is an important aspect of
bringing the last chapter of the Holocaust to an
end. [more] |
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Major General Enyart
consults with Ambassador Victor Ashe prior to
beginning the official portion of his visit to
Poland.
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Illinois National Guard and Polish
Armed Services to Discuss Modernization
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| Major
General William L. Enyart, the Adjutant General
of Illinois, and key members of his staff, are
visiting Poland this week to discuss cooperation
between the Illinois National Guard and the
Polish Armed Forces, announced Office of Defense
Cooperation Col. Stan Prusinski. General Enyart
is personally meeting with the Commanders of the
Polish Air Force and Land Forces to brief them
on opportunities involving the State Partnership
Program. As Poland’s State Partner, the Illinois
National Guard is deeply involved in assisting
with the modernization of Poland’s Armed Forces.
[more] |
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Wlodzimierz
Sniecikowski, Mayor of Gostynin
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Ambassador Welcomes Mayors
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| Ambassador Ashe welcomed Wodzimierz
Sniecikowski, Mayor of Gostynin, Tadeusz
Truskolaski, Mayor of Bialystok, and Piotr
Jakubowski, Mayor of Mikolajki on April 9 to the
U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. Ambassador Ashe has met
each of the three mayors during his travels
throughout Poland. All three were in Warsaw for
various reasons and took the opportunity to call
on Ambassador Ashe and updated him on current
issues in their respective cities. [more] |
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NATO
Summit in Bucharest
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Missile Defense a Key Topic at NATO
Summit |
| At the
NATO summit in Bucharest 4/3, alliance members
expressed support for a missile defense system
in Europe, issuing the Bucharest Summit
Declaration. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
termed it "a breakthrough document on missile
defense for the alliance." In the Declaration,
alliance members also urge Russia to drop its
opposition to missile defense plans [more] |
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Ambassador Ashe and Minister Fedak
sign Agreement
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U.S. and Poland Sign Historic
Agreement on Retirement Benefits
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| U.S.
Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe and Minister of
Labor and Social Policy Jolanta Fedak signed a
U.S.-Poland Totalization Agreement in a ceremony
held at the Ministry of Labor in Warsaw on
Tuesday, April 2. When implemented, the
agreement will allow for the combining of
ZUS/KRUS and U.S. Social Security coverage, and
eliminate double ZUS/KRUS and Social Security
taxation. Also, for many Polish Social Security
beneficiaries and their family members, the
agreement will protect their right to Social
Security benefits, even if they reside outside
of the United States. [more] |
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Pope
John Paul II
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Ambassador Honors Anniversary of
Pope's Death |
| April 2
marks the third anniversary of the death of Pope
John Paul II, who in addition to leading the
Catholic church for nearly three full decades
served as a major counterweight during communist
times in Poland, and who worldwide is considered
a person who represented the spirit of
independence and freedom. U.S. Ambassador to
Poland Victor Ashe commented on this day, “I had
the privilege of meeting Pope John Paul II at an
audience in Rome during his papacy, and I was
struck by his genuine warmth and compassion. It
was immediately apparent why this great man was
so deeply loved by the Polish people, as well as
millions of Christians and non-Christians around
the world.” [more] |
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Members of the
Presidential Delegation at Ambassador Ashe's
residence
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Presidential Delegation to Attend
Ceremony Commemorating Warsaw Ghetto
Uprising |
| U.S.
Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff
led a Presidential Delegation to the ceremony
commemorating the 65th Anniversary of the Warsaw
Ghetto Uprising in Warsaw, Poland on April 15.
The delegation attended the main event in Warsaw
on Tuesday morning, as well as the ceremony
honoring veterans at the Presidential Palace and
Concert of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra at
the Polish National Opera. They also
participated in an event at the French Embassy
in honor of Marek Edelman, the last living
leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. While in
Warsaw, the delegation called upon Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Interior and
Administration Grzegorz Schetyna, as well as
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. [more] |
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Economic/Commercial
dialogue at Ministry of Economy
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Department of Commerce Official Leads
Economic Dialogue in Warsaw
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| Department of Commerce Deputy Assistant
Secretary Paul Dyck and State Special
Representative Frank Mermoud met with Ministry
of Economy Undersecretary of State Marcin
Korolec and representatives from the Ministries
of Finance, Health, Environment, Agriculture and
Culture and Heritage in a bilateral meeting on
March 31 at the Ministry of Economy as part of
an ongoing Economic/Commercial Dialogue to
discuss the whole range of bilateral trade and
investment issues. [more] |
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Ambassador Ashe with Defense Attache
Office and Polish military
officials
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U.S. Admiral Visits Polish Special
Forces |
| Admiral
Eric Olson, Commander of the U.S. Special
Operations Command (USSOCOM), based at Mac Dill
Air Force base in Tampa, FL is conducting a
Special Forces counterpart visit in Poland from
March 31 to April 2. Admiral Olson is the guest
of Major General Włodzimierz Potasiński,
Commander of the Polish Special Operations
Command. While in Warsaw, Admiral Olson will
meet with U.S. Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe
and senior Polish military and political
leaders. Other planned activities include a
Polish Special Forces demonstration, a joint
media briefing, and ceremonial events. [more] | |
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