June 24, 2020
Duda’s Unnecessary Gamble
Polish President Andrzej Duda will visit the White House on Wednesday, a mere four days before the first round of Poland’s presidential election. While the United States and Poland are close allies, Trump’s meeting with Duda immediately before his re-election bid is problematic for both countries. It should be called for what it really is: two leaders putting their own political interests above national security.
Duda expects to return to Warsaw with the promise of U.S. military hardware -- reportedly the opening of the European headquarters of the 5th Army Corps in Poland, as well as 30 F-16s and five C-130 Hercules. These would add to the assets that already rotate through Poland under an existing aviation detachment, though as always the details and implementation remain to be seen. Duda hopes the visit will boost him in an election bid that he could conceivably lose in a second round in July.
Read the full article in RealClearWorld.
More from CNAS
-
How Personalist Politics is Changing Democracies
Commentary
This rapid increase is alarming: Personalist rule brings with it a host of negative outcomes compared to other types of authoritarian systems....
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Carisa Nietsche, Erica Frantz & Joseph Wright
-
How the United States can protect democracy from China and Russia
Commentary
Beijing and Moscow present distinct challenges and use different tactics to pursue their goals....
By David Shullman & Patrick Quirk
-
All Politics Is Personalized
Commentary
Leaders are amassing more power relative to their political parties so politics more strongly reflects the leader’s preferences rather than being a bargaining process among mu...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Erica Frantz & Joseph Wright
-
Debating American Democracy Promotion, with Emma Ashford and Thomas Wright
Podcast
Emma Ashford and Thomas Wright join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Carisa Nietsche to discuss the future of America's democracy promotion efforts abroad and what the U.S. governmen...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Carisa Nietsche, Emma Ashford & Thomas Wright
