The war to end all wars finally ends with Poland's entry into the NATO alliance.

When German bombs began falling on Poland in 1939, NATO did not yet exist, although Poland was in a military alliance with Western powers—Great Britain and France. Today, after a gap of some 60 years, we find ourselves in a similar, but also very different, alliance, and in a world that has greatly changed since 1939.
When the communists and Solidarity sat down together at 1989's scarcely believable and unprecedented Round Table talks, the door to freedom began to open very slowly. Any suggestion at that time that the Warsaw Pact might be dissolved verged on the miraculous. Ten years later, the Soviet bloc belongs to the grim past, democracy and a market economy are established here and Poland is an important element of the Euro-Atlantic picture.
But the age of miracles is gone. The chapter of the Great War and great isolation is shut. Poland's return to the Western world is fact. Now we must face an era of normality, with all its splendors and miseries, as well as new challenges and responsibilities.
For Poles, NATO membership is a dream come true, a dream of a close relationship with the Western hemisphere, of the alliance's protective umbrella unfurled over our land. It is also a willingness to take on responsibilities and a role that result from the geopolitical location as well as the size and strength of the Polish state.
Poles are aware of the advantages of NATO membership, but both we and our allies also know what Poland is contributing to the alliance. If we see NATO as a security zone that reaches out even beyond its boundaries, then the crucial role of Poland—the largest and strongest country of the region—is obvious. We have been preparing ourselves for it from the moment we regained our freedom. Poland immediately proved its ability to meet this challenge by creating democratic institutions, a civic society and market economy. Poland has also established good relations with all its neighbors and was the first country in the world to recognize an independent Ukraine.
Poland's vision of a safe Europe is based on two fundaments: NATO and the European Union, as well as on harmonious cooperation with countries remaining outside these structures. With roots in the past, the NATO of the 21st century will meet the demands of the future. The alliance will be the fruit of mutual effort by all its members, including Poland.

Andrzej Jonas
Editor - in -Chief
The Warsaw Voice

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