No Plot

11 April 2010



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Poland's Government Decapitated in Plane Crash

Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and 95 others died when their Soviet-era Tupolev 154 crashed as it approached Smolensk, Russia. Witnesses say that the craft clipped the tree tops as it made its fourth approach in heavy fog. In addition to the nation's president, Poland lost:Alexander Szczyglo, chief of the National Security Office [or BBN]; Slawomir Skrzypek, governor of the National Bank of Poland; Jerzy Szmajdinski, deputy speaker of the lower house of Poland's legislature, the Sejm; Franciszek Gagor, chief of the general staff; Ryszard Kaczorowski, president of the Polish government-in-exile during Communism; Przemyslaw Gosiewski, deputy leader of the president's Law and Justice Party; Andrzej Kremer, deputy Foreign Minister; and Anna Walentynowicz, a crane driver in the Gdansk shipyards who got sacked in 1980, which resulted in the birth of the Solidarity movement. The Kensington Review offers its condolences to Poland and the many friends of the Polish people at this dreadful time.

Ironically, the passengers were on their way to Russia to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Forest Massacre. In that forest, Stalin's thugs murdered 20,000 Polish military officers to ensure that there was no core around which Polish resistance to the joint German-Soviet occupation of Poland could coalesce. For ages, the Soviets blamed the Nazis, but since the fall of the communist regime in Moscow, the Russians have acknowledged that it was Stalin and not Hitler who ordered the massacre. This is the second time that the leadership of Poland has been killed in that forest.

The conspiracy theories are already in full bloom. The usual theme is that Russian Prime Minister Putin and the rest of his ex-KGB pals hated the nationalist Mr. Kaczynski and used this opportunity to assassinate him. In fact, just the opposite is likely to be the case. Russia's ex-Chekist leaders are many things but chief among those traits is cunning. They understand power and how to use and abuse it. What Russia needs right now, given its troubles in Chechnya and the general meltdown in the ex-Soviet republics known collective as the 'Stans, is peace and cooperation along its western border. Mr. Putin's attendance at Katyn memorial ceremonies a few days ago attest to the desire for reconciliation between to two great Slavic tribes. The paranoid will argue that it was merely a smokescreen, but in truth, Russian pride and nationalism took a hit from the Katyn reconciliation move, and if the conspiracy theories are correct, Russia gave up far more at home than it gained abroad with this "smokescreen."

What next for Poland then? The presidential elections scheduled for this autumn will occur sooner. According to the constitution, the Speaker of the Sejm, Bronislaw Komorowski, takes over as acting president He was clearly the favorite to win the election against Mr. Kaczynsk, and will likely carry the day when the Polish people vote, within 60 days of the tragedy. Beyond that, however, the Law and Justice Party needs to find new leaders, the military needs new top commanders, and the central bank needs a new governor. This represents an opportunity to revitalize the government of Poland, and if any good is to come of this tragedy, that is it.

© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

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