Former Prime Minister Leszek Miller and
former President Aleksander
Kwaśniewski: With
controversy swirling about who accepted $15 million
for allowing the CIA to establish a 'black prison' in Poland
while they
were in power, Miller has blamed Kwaśniewski- but it was Miller who
had the authority to do so.
Assigning Blame for 'Poland's Guantanamo' (WProst24, Poland)
"One can speculate when and to what extent former President
Kwaśniewski learned the truth, but that doesn't
change the fact that the person who acted in violation of the Constitution was Former
Prime Minister Miller. ... Miller should be charged with violating the
Constitution and selling the sovereignty of Poland for mere $15 million, in
other words, for the establishment of a Polish Guantanamo."
Former presidents Bush and Kwasniewski in 2005: In 2012, Kwasniewski admitted that Polish territory and facilites were used by the CIA for 'extraordinary renditions' and detentions of people classified as 'enemy combatants.' The question of who ultimately approved this and accepted payment for allowing them to use the facility is now debated in Warsaw.
Like
a child rather than a man, former Prime Minister Leszek
Miller is pointing at [former chief of the Bureau of National Security] MarekSiwiec, and former President AleksanderKwaśniewski, to
take responsibility for CIA prisons in Poland. A man wouldn't act like that. Only
a coward and liar would do that!
Poland
is a democratic republic with a parliamentary system. Generally speaking, the
division of power is the following: the legislative branch (Sejm
and Senat), executive branch (president and cabinet)
and the judicial branch (Common Courts, Constitutional Tribunal, and Tribunal of State
etc.).
Executive
power is unequally divided. The president's role is limited in practice to
representative functions. Most executive power belongs to the prime minister
and cabinet. The Council of Ministers [the cabinet] governs, and the prime minister
is responsible for, among other things, the nation's domestic and external
security.
AleksanderKwaśniewski's
responsibility for CIA's prisons is proportional to the amount of executive
power the president holds in our system - in other words, negligible when
compared to the prime minister. As Prime Minister Donald Tusk colorfully puts it: "The president minds
the parlor." The installation of American secret prisons in Poland was the
task of the AgencjaWywiadu [Foreign Intelligence Service],
whose head at that time was ZbigniewSiemiątkowski.
His immediate superior was Prime Minister Leszek
Miller.
Today,
Miller's assertion that he knew nothing is a pathetic attempt at obfuscation, as
is his blaming of former President AleksanderKwaśniewski. Pointing out that the Bureau of National
Security [BBN]
was then headed by MarekSiwiec
is nothing more than an attempt to discredit Siwiec
and his Europa Plus coalition. In other words, it is
political game calculated to influence the current situation. BBN is an analytical
and advisory institution. It has no authority to conduct intelligence or
counterintelligence operations, nor any other activities of an operational
kind. Its role is to analyze the threats and advise the president. Miller knows
this, and yet he cynically and cowardly points the finger of blame at Siwiec and Kwaśniewski. Such
immature behavior only shows the fear and nervousness of the Democratic Left Alliance leader [Miller].
Is
Kwaśniewski completely free of blame? Of course
not! The former president has, in many an interview, admitted to the existence
of CIA prisons in Poland, nobly taking responsibility on himself. This
responsibility, however, is part of his role in the state and his share of
executive power. Frankly speaking, as president, AleksanderKwaśniewski's responsibility was to safeguard
the Constitution, which former Prime Minister Miller has brutally violated. One
can speculate when and to what extent Kwaśniewski
learned the truth, but that doesn't change the fact that the person who acted
in violation of the Constitution was Miller - not Kwaśniewski.
It
follows that Miller should be charged with violating the Constitution and
selling the sovereignty of Poland for mere $15 million, in other words, for the
establishment of a Polish Guantanamo.Kwaśniewski may be responsible for not bringing Miller
to justice - if it is proved that he knew everything.
The
relationship between Kwaśniewski and Miller at
that time was described by the press as "tough love." In reality,
behind that moniker, the two leaders waged a struggle for influence - a struggle
in which Miller regularly stressed the marginal, representative role of the presidency.
It was often said at that time that Miller aspired to the role of an "Iron
Chancellor," and wanted to concentrate all executive power in his hands -
following the example of Germany's chancellors.
Posted By
Worldmeets.US
In
the light of the above facts, Miller's pathetic efforts to shift the blame to Kwaśniewski are not going to work. He was responsible
for the AgencjaWywiadu, and
I can't imagine that Colonel AndrzejDerlatka would receive boxes of U.S. dollars
without the knowledge and acceptance of his boss ZbigniewSiemiątkowski, who surely informed Miller about
everything. Did Miller tell President Kwaśniewski
anything, or or did he keep to himself the fact of his close co-operation (or rather co-conspiracy) with the Americans? Knowing his congenital servility toward the Russians and
Americans, I would say he was quite circumspect about sharing such knowledge
with Kwaśniewski.
