Poland has had the time to recover from Soviet rule and build a state capable of fighting like Hell if Russia tries to move west at Poland's expense again.
"After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Poles were the first former Soviet country to restore democracy, free markets and the rule of law."
It will be a while before Poland's military expansion and upgrade will match the paper strength with combat capability. And I can't rule out that Poland's military plans won't match the paper strength.
But membership in NATO has bought a lot of time. And Russia's self-immolation in its invasion of Ukraine will buy more time. So Poland has a chance.
And America has arrived, pulling NATO with it.
Russia, on the other hand, is going backwards:
"The head of Russia's federal crime agency on Saturday suggested that key sectors of the economy should be returned to state ownership to support Moscow's war in Ukraine."
Can Russia really rebuild its military based on the system that already lost Russia its Soviet empire?
What the heck, lose some more, eh?
This contrast between Poland and Russia is why I want Ukraine to battle corruption and embrace rule of law.
UPDATE: Poland has a new security framework for their growing power:
The revamped approach is ambitious, as befits a country moving more squarely into Europe’s center of gravity. It is crafted to meet the demands of a new global security architecture in the wake of the Ukraine war in which Poland seeks to play a prominent role. It highlights three pillars of Warsaw’s relations with partners and allies for addressing emerging threats to the West: maintaining peace, stability, and security; battling renewed imperialism; and defending the rules-based international order. These are the cornerstones of a long-term national strategy firmly geared toward confronting the growing rivalry between democracy and autocracy.
Okay. Deterring or defeating Russia seems like the basic framework. All else flows from that. But I admittedly lack nuance.
NOTE: The image was made with DALL-E.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
