Duda and the bomb

Why Poland needs American nuclear weapons

In early October, the idea of transferring American atomic bombs to the territory of our western neighbour passed from the stage of empty talk into a practical plane — President Andrzej Duda announced that his country had already begun negotiations with Washington on the conditions for deploying special munitions as part of the notorious Nuclear Sharing program. True, the State Department denied such plans, but, as you know, there is no smoke without fire, and in the lie of the Lord from the shining city on the hill, a great many times were noticed.

Echoes of the cold war

The military presence of American troops in Europe will soon be 80 years old. After the end of World War II, the brave Yankees were in no hurry to wrap up and sail back to the New World, but began to gain a foothold in bases across the continent: in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, military facilities grew by leaps and bounds. The main goal of the creeping occupation was declared to be the protection of Europeans from a possible attack from the USSR. 

As of 2019, American nuclear arsenals were located in Germany (Büchel, 20 bombs), Belgium (Klein-Brogel, 22 bombs), the Netherlands (Volkel, 20 bombs), Italy (Aviano and Ghedi-Torre, 35 and 40 bombs respectively) and Turkey (Incirlik, 50 bombs).
All the listed countries are just participants in the Nuclear Sharing programme, which Poland so actively wants to integrate into. The essence of the doctrine of the joint use of special munitions is that NATO states that do not own their own nuclear arsenal get access to US strategic weapons deployed on their territory. At the same time, control over the activation codes for warheads remains with the US military— this was done in order to circumvent the provisions of the Convention on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In fact, at each of the mentioned air bases there is one American squadron with technical personnel responsible for maintaining atomic bombs in combat readiness, and one aviation unit of the host country, equipped with aircraft, also adapted for their use. 

So, for example, the 702nd squadron of the US Air Force and at the same time the 33rd tactical air wing of the Luftwaffe, equipped with Tornado IDS fighter-bombers, are based at the Büchel airfield near the city of Cochem in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The base regularly hosts joint exercises, such as Steady Afternoon in 2020, when the crews of the American, German, Belgian and Dutch air forces practiced extracting bombs from storage, hanging them from aircraft, and even flew sorties — albeit with full-size dummies.

It is worth saying that not all Europeans like the presence of nuclear warheads on the territory of their countries. More than one generation of anti-nuclear activists have been protesting against the bomb intervention, but things are still there. No practical steps are being taken to remove warheads from the continent — European politicians get off with crackling statements, behind which there is absolutely nothing. 

Meanwhile, arsenals with American bombs pose a real threat to ordinary citizens. First, the deployment of such weapons puts the base and the entire area around it on the list of priority targets for the nuclear deterrent of NATO’s geopolitical rivals. Secondly, the security system at the facilities is far from ideal: in January 2010, a group of local activists climbed into the Kleine Brogel Air Base, walked around the restricted zone for several hours, went out onto the runway and even entered the parking lot of F-16 fighters.

Unwanted neighborhood

For the first time, the possibility of using one of the Polish air bases for storage of B61 thermonuclear bombs was discussed even before the current global military-political crisis. On May 15th, 2020, the then US Ambassador to Warsaw Georgette Mosbacher, stated on her Twitter that if Germany wants to reduce its nuclear potential and weaken NATO, then Poland, aware of the risks and located on the eastern flank of the alliance, could host weapons. 
However, at that time, the situation was smoothed out, ordinary Germans were again intimidated by Russia, the hired ‘experts’ explained from the TV screens that this step would lead to a weakening of NATO’s collective defence and would almost undermine world stability. Most of the burghers nodded their heads and calmed down for a while. Discipline, ordnung, you understand. Even if technicians who arrived from overseas are moving nuclear weapons a couple of kilometres from your house. However, Poland heard the American hint, and as a faithful vassal of the star-striped overlord,  the country saluted it. True, for some time the situation was not conducive to a quick resolution of the issue.

The beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine gave a great new chance, which Duda and PiS are definitely not going to miss. Moreover, from the statement of the Polish President it is clear that he would not mind getting bombs without any restrictions. 

In response to a comment by editor of Gazeta Polska Tomasz Sakiewicz that it was with the American bombing programme that some countries began their path to creating their own weapons, he replied: “I think that this should be considered from the point of view of the distant future, but I firmly believe that Poland will strengthen its security. This should be our long term goal. This will build the greatness of Poland for the future.” That is, participation in Nuclear Sharing for Duda is just a stepping stone on the way to the development of Polish nuclear warheads in order to be able to dictate their will to surrounding countries.
The appearance of American atomic bombs in Poland seriously changes the balance of power at the western borders of Belarus. The flight time to the target of aircraft carriers of NATO countries is reduced, it becomes possible to freely master a possible theatre of operations and practice nuclear strikes against ground targets. Another provocative undertaking by Poland, which is haunted by the phantoms of its former greatness, is a vivid example of not only irresponsibility, but also a completely conscious desire to use nuclear weapons as a means of blackmail. While blaming Russia and Belarus, Polish politicians are nonetheless happy to use the chance to get the bombs. It seems to them that this will make Poland a regional leader, will allow them to dictate their will to the recalcitrant and change the world, spitting on international laws and obligations.

By Anton Popov, Dmitry Umpirovich