More on the September 17 public-diplomacy disaster

For days I have been trying to find out why September 17 was chosen as the date for the U.S. government's announcement on the new architecture of anti-missile systems, originally meant to be land-based in Eastern Europe.

For Poles, even those opposed to this senseless (in my opinion) Bush-era scheme (which, again in my view, unnecessarily provoked the Russians: Would we want a Russian anti-missile system in Mexico?), it was -- again, for Poles -- an abandonment of American "engagement" (to use the fashionable Obama-era foreign-policy word) in the heart to Europe.

The Bush missile system was crazy to begin with, but the Obama timing for announcing its dismantlement was crazy as well. The timing -- on the date of the USSR invasion of Poland in 1939 -- was a major public-diplomacy faux pas; no, not a faux pas (forget the French) -- too soft an expression -- a public-diplomacy disaster, in Poland at least. Another great-power deal, the Russians and Americans "ganging up" against the Poles -- or so, I would say, many Poles felt.

As Lech Walesa said,

"It wasn't that the shield was that important, but it's about the way, the way of treating us."

Ted Lipien -- a VOA veteran in his capacity as foreign correspondent and executive of that organization; and who knows more about Eastern Europe than he does? -- has written about this topic, writing that:

"Displaying unprecedented boldness for a US diplomatic mission, the US Embassy in Warsaw conceded on its official public website that Poles believe that the 'insensitive timing' — as the Embassy put it — of the Obama administration announcement on canceling the US missile shield system in Central Europe 'shows that Obama does not understand Poland.' In what may be a deliberate US public diplomacy effort to repair the public relations damage in Poland, a news item on the embassy website, posted in both English and Polish, acknowledged that 'the timing of Obama’s announcement upset Poland and Polish Americans because it came on Sept. 17, the 70th anniversary of the Russian invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II.' …

But what does the State Department actually say about the choice of this date?

I called the State Department, with the phone operators (they have numerals, not names, when they "answer" your call ["Operator, e.g., "20"]), switching me from one office to the other. Finally, I was able to reach the answering machine of the State Department Poland Desk Officer, who professionally acknowledged my call in a later communication.

I got back to her a few days after my initial call. During our phone conversation, she proclaimed (wish I could use a better word, but that's how it sounded to me) that "I can't talk to the press." Regarding my question on why September 17 was chosen as a date, she said "look at CNN." The U.S. Embassy Warsaw piece by Lipien? No comment. She underscored that she was a "political officer." My question as to what a political officer actually does (since she can't, evidently, "talk to the press") was left unaswered.

She gave me another number to call at the State Department. The person who answered my call (let's call him/her "Off the record [OTR]) said h/she -- OTR -- had no official or "background" information as to why this date was chosen.

OTR allowed me to cite the following OTR statement during our phone conversation: "State Department sources could not explain the choice of that date."

The polite, tactful OTR then said that I should check with the White House as to why that date was chosen.

Next! Trying to reach the White House ... The saga continues.

Editorial comment: What did Truman say about the buck?