Losing The New Europe

By Radek Sikorski
Friday, November 7, 2003; Page A31

Throughout the transatlantic marital spat over Iraq, Central Europeans have remained friendly to the United States. The new democracies risked the wrath of France and Germany, whose favors they need as they enter the European Union, and they backed up their words with deeds. Polish special forces have fought in the port of Umm Kasr and in more than 60 operations since. Yesterday Poland suffered its first casualty: Maj. Hieronim Kupczyk was shot dead on the road between U.S. Camp Dogwood and Poland's headquarters at Babylon. Soldiers from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine serve in the Polish sector between Basra and Baghdad, providing relief for about 10,000 U.S. troops. Yet unless the United States acts, this may be the last emergency in which it can count on Central European support.

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KEY QUOTES:

But it would be a mistake to think that they shared all of the United States' concerns about Iraq. While many in the region have sympathy with human rights arguments, most never felt threatened by Saddam Hussein, and they were skeptical of intelligence reports about his weapons of mass destruction.

As a result, the public in the most pro-American country in Europe, Poland, opposes military involvement in Iraq 2 to 1 -- and that was before any casualties.

As of next year, Western Europe's pull in Central Europe will multiply. Millions of motorists will see signs marking EU-financed infrastructure projects; millions of farmers will get EU agricultural subsidy checks in the mail; and tens of thousands of journalists, scientists and academics will become eligible for EU grants. If the United States wants to remain a player, it better get into the game.