The Return of Geopolitics

The $60 billion worth of weapons the U.S. wants to sell to Saudi Arabia — one of the most authoritarian regimes in the world — are not only a sign of victory for cynical geopolitics, but also a sad reminder that Poland is not Washington’s key ally.

In the Vistula region, many people hope that, because of our tragic history, our contribution to the fall of communism and also the blood shed by our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States will recognize us as its main ally. Many politicians believe — not always silently — that strategic ties will join both countries. We won’t have to demean ourselves by asking for military assistance, we will stop receiving warships from junkyards, and we won’t have to pay astronomical sums for leasing barracks on our base in Kosovo.

But that will not happen. Washington only cares about a country’s position on the map: The closer it is to strategic areas, the greater the likelihood of receiving a multimillion-dollar injection of financial and military aid. The transaction to be made between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia is the ultimate proof of the return of ruthless geopolitics, as well as the saying that goes: “He may be a scoundrel, but he’s our scoundrel.”

The sale of military equipment worth over $60 billion to Saudi Arabia is not a reward for promoting democracy, because there is no democracy in Riyadh and its surroundings. There isn’t even a trace of freedom there — neither political nor religious. Moreover, the highest number of terrorists — with Osama bin Laden at the forefront — come not from Iraq, Iran or Syria, but from Saudi Arabia.

Isn’t it also a reward for loyalty as an ally? Saudi Arabia has repeatedly acted against American interests: It sparked a price war on the oil market, did not put any effort into fighting Islamic radicalism, and in 2003, when Americans were preparing to invade Iraq, Saudi Arabia prevented them from having access to their bases.

What’s the moral of this for Poland? It does not matter how many missions we undertake with the U.S. Army, it does not matter if we carry the torch of democracy to the entire world, it does not matter if we fully support Washington — none of these actions will make Americans modernize the Polish army. If we want to have modern weapons technologies, we have to change our position on the map. Unrealistic? Yes. Just as unrealistic as Poland ever becoming a key U.S. ally.