MISSILE DEFENSE: POLAND OPEN TO SHARING WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 002111 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR PL SUBJECT: MISSILE DEFENSE: POLAND OPEN TO SHARING WITH CZECHS, PUBLICITY A GROWING CONCERN Classified By: DCM Kenneth Hillas for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Splitting Missile Defense assets between Poland and the Czech Republic is a good idea according to Robert Kupiecki, Director of MFA Security Policy and Chairman of Poland's interagency working group on Missile Defense. On September 29, he told DCM that he and his counterpart in the Czech MFA, Veronica Kuchynova Smigolova, had agreed that putting the MD radar in one country and interceptors in another the project would gain a multilateral flavor that would assuage Czech and Polish public opinion. ¶2. (C) For his part, the DCM noted growing concern in Washington about comments by various Polish officials, especially DefMin Radek Sikorski, that Missile Defense itself did not contribute to Polish security. When Kupiecki noted the Polish position was more complex then the statements of any one Minister, DCM cautioned that the conflicting messages left room for misinterpretation by both the public and other governments. Kupiecki responded that for Poland participation in Missile Defense was akin to joining NATO and so required vigorous debate. Kupiecki then reaffirmed the GOP's intention to launch an aggressive public diplomacy campaign after a U.S. decision on Missile Defense. ¶3. (C) On the separate public diplomacy issue Kupiecki noted that he was "obligated" to inquire about a September 22 Stars and Strips article in which an unnamed U.S. official criticized DefMin Radek Sikorski. He said the GOP had instructed all of its Ambassadors to aggressively counter any press critical of Poland. Kupiecki said that the GOP considered the September 28 letter from DepSecDef England to the publisher of Stars and Stripes, which made clear the strategic importance of the U.S.-Polish relationship, to have effectively "closed" the matter. ¶4. (C) Comment: Kupiecki's comments revealed his government's growing awareness of the need to manage public opinion. We hope his promise to initiate a pro-Missile Defense publicity campaign after a U.S. decision shows growing press-awareness will result in a unified government message, but fear we may still see discordant notes from Sikorski in particular. End Comment. ASHE