World Politics Review quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Associate Director Simona Kordosova on the US-Polish relationship and the new European Reassurance Initiative that President Obama announced during his recent trip to Warsaw:
The new initiative is a “much-needed step of President Obama’s administration and an important commitment to the security and territorial integrity of Central Europe,” says Simona Kordosova of the Atlantic Council in an email to Trend Lines. The fund still requires approval from the U.S. Congress, however, and therefore “doesn’t provide any immediate, visible assistance for the region,” she says.Kordosova adds that Poland continues to worry that even if the money comes through, it won’t be enough to deter further Russian aggression. Poland wants “more tangible reassurance measures to be put in place, such as a permanent ground presence of NATO troops,” she explains.
[…]Kordosova calls the planned missile defense site “one of the most tangible signs of U.S. commitment to the region.” She says that the United States should ensure that the EPAA, which has already been adjusted in response to technological and budgetary developments, moves forward as planned “regardless of external factors.”