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1
1
T HERITAGE T
TALKING POINTS
A Checklist on Vital National Issues
George Bush's Trip
to Poland and Hungary
July 9-13, 1989
Bringing the American Agenda
to Eastern Europe
By Leon Aron and
Douglas Seay
The
Heritage Foundation
The
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation was established- in 1973 as a nonpartisan, tax-exempt policy re-
search institute dedicated to the principles of free competitive enterprise, limited government,
individual liberty, and a strong national defense. The Foundation's research and study programs
are designed to make the voices of responsible conservatism heard in Washington, D.C.,
throughout the United States, and in the capitals of the world.
Heritage publishes its research in a variety of formats for the benefit of policy makers, the
communications media, the academic, business and financial communities, and the public at
large. Over the past five years alone The Heritage Foundation has published some 1,000 books,
monographs, and studies, ranging in size from the 564-page government blueprint, Mandate for
Leadership II: Continuing the Conservative Revolution, to more frequent "Critical Issues"
monographs and the topical "Backgrounders" and "Issue Bulletins" of a dozen pages. At the
start of 1981, Heritage published the 1,093-page Mandate for Leadership: Policy Management
in a Conservative Administration. Heritage's other regular publications include the monthly
National Security Record and the quarterlies Education Update and Policy Review.
In addition to the printed word, Heritage regularly brings together national and international
opinion leaders and policy makers to discuss issues and ideas in a continuing series of seminars,
lectures, debates, and briefings.
Heritage is classified as a Section 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code of
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170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Code. Individuals, corporations, companies, associations, and founda-
tions are eligible to support the work of The Heritage Foundation through tax-deductible gifts.
Note: Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The
Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress.
The Heritage Foundation
214 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002
U.S.A.
202/546-4400
June 28, 1989
GEORGE BUSH'S TRIP TO POLAND AND HUNGARY
July 9 - 13, 1989
BRINGING THE AMERICAN AGENDA
TO EASTERN EUROPE
INTRODUCTION
American Presidents do not visit Eastern Europe often. When George Bush goes there
from July 9 to 13, it will be the first time that a President visits Hungary and only the fourth
time a President visits Poland, the last being Jimmy Carter in 1979.
But as historically rare as Bush's July trip is, it is momentous for another reason: it offers
the United States what may be an unprecedented opportunity to reengage in a region in
which it has had little or no influence for most of this century. Previous Presidents have
visited Eastern Europe mainly for the symbolism of venturing into the Soviet camp. George
Bush's visit can be heavy with substance, offering Poland, Hungary, and - implicitly - the
rest of Eastern Europe help in forging a future that breaks sharply with the past four
decades.
Immediately following his trip to Poland and Hungary, Bush will head to Paris to attend
his first economic summit with the leaders of Western Europe, Canada, and Japan. Because
there are no major crises in U.S. relations with its allies, Bush can use this summit of
Western leaders to share insights and ideas about his plans for the future of Eastern Europe.
Advancing U.S. Interests. The U.S. was last seriously involved in Eastern Europe during
the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 when Woodrow Wilson and his envoys helped redraw
Europe's map after World War I. During the 1920s and 1930s the U.S. became disengaged
from the region, and with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's abandonment of
Czechoslovakia to Hitler in 1938, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria were lost
to the West - coming first under Nazi domination and then, along with part of Germany,
under Soviet control. The possibility now of a weakening Soviet grip on Eastern Europe and
real reform in Poland and Hungary could open the way for the political, economic, and
cultural reengagement of the U.S. in Eastern Europe - for bringing to this region the
American agenda of political and economic democracy. This agenda advances U.S. interests
because it would loosen the Soviet hold on Eastern Europe, create political stability in all of
Europe, and help begin the long and painful process of creating market economies where
they long have been suppressed. The Soviet Union, in fact, may be open to discussions with
the U.S. on ways of relieving itself of the burdens of rule over Eastern Europe. Such
discussions have been advocated by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.¹
1
This is outlined in the Summer 1989 Policy Review article, "Waiting for Mr. X," by Burton Yale Pines.
1
Promoting East Europeans' Freedom. This agenda also would advance the interests of
the East Europeans, promoting their right to freedom and self-determination and offering
hope of someday ending the economic stagnation caused by years of communism.
American engagement in Eastern Europe should be seen as part of a broad strategy to
move beyond merely containing Soviet power in Europe to reducing and eventually
eliminating it entirely. This strategy of liberation, possibly taking years, should have clear
aims: the withdrawal of Soviet forces completely or to token levels, democracy and
self-determination, and a free market economy. This activist agenda of engagement, if
adopted by Bush, could become the foreign policy hallmark of his presidency, and
deservedly called the "Bush Doctrine."
This is a critical time for Eastern Europe. In Poland, Solidarity and the democratic
opposition control the upper house of parliament. In Hungary, the government is consulting
with American conservatives such as Richard Rahn of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on
how to introduce currency reforms into the economy.
These reforms and the new openness to Western ways, however, are reversible so long as
the Soviet army remains a controlling force in Eastern Europe. In fact, the only guarantee
of the irreversibility of reform in Eastern Europe is the withdrawal of most or all Soviet
forces. This almost certainly will occur only by negotiations with the West. A top priority for
crafting a new policy toward Eastern Europe thus should be to ensure that Western military
capabilities are not reduced unilaterally, but are cut only as the Soviet threat recedes.
Enduring freedom and self-determination in Eastern Europe require sound conventional
arms control agreements that drastically reduce the Soviet military threat in Europe.
Laying the Foundation. Bush should use his visit to lay the foundation of a U.S. policy
that promotes further reform and the disengagement of the Soviet Union from Eastern
Europe. Bush's diplomatic challenge is to encourage additional democratic and free market
reforms and further the withdrawal of Soviet control over the region without frightening
either Moscow or the aging Communist Party rulers into cracking down on reform as
China's leaders have.
Bush should devise a set of incentives to promote reform and a set of disincentives to
deter its reversal. He should:
Inform the Polish and Hungarian authorities of the criteria by
which the U.S. will judge economic and political reforms. These
criteria include: genuinely free elections, an independent judiciary,
controls on the secret police, legal political parties, an end to
restrictions on private entrepreneurship, price reforms,
abandonment of central planning, moves toward a free capital and
labor market, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and
codification of commercial law.
Tell the authorities that U.S. loans, high technology trade,
management training, and cultural cooperation will be determined
by how the above criteria are met.
Tell the authorities privately that they will lose U.S. financial,
technical, and managerial assistance if reforms are reversed and that
2
they will face possible diplomatic and economic sanctions in the case
of a crackdown by hardliners or Soviet invasion.
Tell the authorities and the people that reform plans based on
the principles of minimal state interference, free enterprise, and
private initiative will solve their economic crisis better than the
statist and socialist models offered by Social Democrats and other
leftists in Western Europe and Eastern Europe.
Proclaim to the peoples of Poland and Hungary that he is on
their side and supports their aspirations for greater freedom and
democracy.
Meet with Hungarian and Polish conservatives and advocates of
a free market to boost their authority and help advance a
non-socialist, private enterprise agenda for solving the economic
crisis.
Visit successful private entrepreneurs to demonstrate the
dynamism of private initiative and enterprise.
Laud the people's courage to resist communism and praise them
for being the real force behind change and reform.
Stress the historic bonds between America and the peoples of
Eastern Europe, emphasizing the common roots in Western culture,
religion, and civilization.
Spend considerable time with the democratic opposition, rather
than with officials, treating Lech Walesa as a true leader of the Polish
nation.
Pay tribute to the martyrs of the democratic opposition, laying a
wreath, for example, at the grave of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
leader Imre Nagy and at the Gdansk monument to protesters killed
by Poland's communist authorities in 1970.
Say to Poland's and Hungary's officials and public that America
supports the concept of "strict non-interference in the internal
affairs of others" in Europe. A statement that the U.S. expects all
countries to abide by the same principles would signal that a Soviet
attempt to intervene militarily to stop reform would be vigorously
opposed by the U.S.
Bush should give recognition and qualified praise to those policies by
Gorbachev and the East European regimes that have relaxed
repression and allowed limited economic and political reforms. He
also should state U.S. willingness to discuss with all parties involved
how full democracy and economic reconstruction can be achieved.
3
THE GOALS OF U.S. POLICY IN EASTERN EUROPE
The importance of Eastern Europe to the U.S. stems from a geopolitical reality: as a
Soviet-controlled territory, it is a potential launching pad for a Soviet invasion of Western
Europe. The aims of U.S. policy, therefore, should be to reduce and eventually eliminate
the Soviet domination of the region and to ensure that the re-integration of Eastern Europe
into the world community is peaceful and contributes to European stability.
Until now, U.S. policy toward Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe has been largely
confined to monitoring behavior of the Communist rulers, using a variety of diplomatic and
economic means to encourage reform and to punish communist repression. While
appropriate and successful under the circumstances, the policy was, by necessity, that of a
concerned bystander. The recent rapid and momentous changes in the Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe require a more activist U.S. policy. The U.S. now has an opportunity to aid
the political and economic reconstruction of the region. It has the opportunity to advance
American concepts of self-determination, democracy, and free enterprise as the guiding
principles for political and economic reforms.
This U.S. policy now should aim at the following goals:
1) Ending the Division of Europe
The Cold War began in the late 1940s when the Soviet Union broke
the wartime agreements of Tehran and Yalta and reneged on its
promises to allow political freedom in Eastern Europe. The Cold
War and the division of Europe will end when the Soviet Union lives
up to its agreements and allows Poland, Hungary, and other East
European countries to develop political and economic systems of
their own making. The ultimate goal of U.S. policy, therefore, should
be to move beyond containing Soviet power in Europe to reducing
and eventually eliminating it. This would end the division of Europe
and restore the rights, freedoms, and territorial integrity of Eastern
Europe which have been violated by the Soviet Union since the end
of World War II.
U.S. interests can be advanced only if the U.S. is actively engaged in
the region. As the Bush Administration's policy toward the Soviet
Union extends beyond containment, so should U.S. policy toward
Eastern Europe extend beyond the removal of the Cold War barriers
and be aimed at the restoration of the East European nations'
legitimate place as an integral part of Western civilization. The
President's visit is the best opportunity to inaugurate what might
become the Bush Doctrine - a new activist U.S. policy to overcome
the division of Europe and spread the American principles of
democracy, self-determination, and free market into Eastern Europe.
2) Withdrawing or Reducing to Token Levels Soviet Forces in
Eastern Europe.
Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe precipitated and continues to
perpetuate the Cold War. Europe's 44-year armed truce will not be
4
transformed into genuine peace until Soviet forces end their
occupation of Eastern Europe. The Conventional Armed Forces in
Europe (CFE) talks in Vienna may offer the first opportunity to
reduce substantially Soviet armed forces in Eastern Europe. Bush's
CFE proposal, announced at the May 29-30 NATO summit to
reduce American and Soviet forces in non-Soviet Europe to 275,000
each, would mean a reduction of 325,000 Soviet forces now
occupying East Germany, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Were these
forces withdrawn and effectively barred from returning by a CFE
treaty, democratic forces in Eastern Europe would be strengthened
and encouraged. CFE thus is the essential first step in the withdrawal
of most or all Soviet forces from Eastern Europe.
3) Promoting Political Reform.
Multi-party democracy in Eastern Europe would diminish Soviet
control of the region and the threat that it poses to the West. The
greater the control of these governments by their peoples, the less
responsive they will be to Soviet directives. Therefore, the U.S.
should support popular democratic forces and encourage the
reformist elements within the communist leadership. Reforms
supported by the U.S. should include free elections, multiple
political parties, and an end to the dominant position of the
communist party.
American support of these reforms includes assisting the democratic
forces and warning the regimes that a crackown would affect
relations with the U.S. The U.S. can provide the opposition with
psychological and political support; a main source of this is
America's National Endowment for Democracy. The U.S. could to
assist the regimes's reform efforts by praising the steps already taken
to allow greater political liberty, linking economic assistance to
further progress in political reform, and encouraging Moscow to
stayout of the process.
4) Promoting Economic Reform.
Democratic reform and its long-term stability depend on
transforming the economies from the paralyzing Stalinist model to
one based on free market principles. The U.S. should promote
reforms that encourage private enterprise and limited government
interference in the economy. The U.S. has tremendous managerial
and entrepreneurial resources greatly needed by these countries.
Programs designed to make these available would contribute to the
transition to market economies. The U.S. could encourage American
businesses to investigate opportunities in these countries.
5) Promoting National Self-Determination.
The reduction of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe requires that
the countries of this region reassert their full national sovereignty
5
and regain control over their own affairs. The U.S. and other
Western states should increase their ties to these countries at all
official and unofficial levels and encourage participation in Western
and other international organizations such as the European Free
Trade Association and the International Monetary Fund by those
East European nations that do not do do. The U.S. should warn that
any Soviet attempts to halt the reform process will impair seriously
U.S.-Soviet relations.
THE GOALS OF BUSH'S TRIP
Bush's visit to Hungary and Poland will focus world attention on Eastern Europe. This
will provide an excellent opportunity for him to advance U.S. interests in the region. He
should:
1) Articulate an American approach to resolving Eastern Europe's
crisis.
After four decades of communism, Eastern Europe is an economic
basket case, plagued with low productivity, low motivation, an
increasingly obsolete industrial base, an ecological crisis, and a debt
to the West of over $100 billion. Bush should make a case for
applying American models of economic and political reform as
solutions to the problems besetting the region. These models should
be based on the principles of minimal state interference in the lives
of individuals and free enterprise and private initiative.
This will counterbalance the still strong socialist tradition among
leaders of the democratic opposition in Eastern Europe that is
reinforced by the West European Left. Solidarity, for example, has
established strong ties with the Social Democratic Party of West
Germany. This connection bolsters the socialist and statist
tendencies among the Solidarity leadership - the opposite of what is
needed to resolve Poland's enormous problems. Those governments
and private organizations in the West committed to a free market
approach should establish ties with the non-communist opposition in
Eastern Europe to promote a non-socialist alternative.
2) Re-affirm the U.S. support for the peoples' democratic
aspirations.
Bush should state, in effect, that the U.S. is on the side of the
democratic forces in their struggle for political liberty, national
self-determination, and free enterprise. Bush should relate the
struggle in Eastern Europe to the increasing success of democracy
around the world and reaffirm the traditional American commitment
to democracy, human rights, and economic freedom for all peoples.
6
3) Buttress the democratic opposition.
Bush should reaffirm U.S. support for the democratic forces in the
region by publicly identifying their objectives with the fundamental
values of American democracy: individual liberty, the rule of law,
and freedom of speech. Bush should meet the leaders of the
democratic opposition in Poland and Hungary and state his intention
to maintain U.S. contacts with them. This will reinforce the
legitimacy and stature of these leaders and strengthen their
bargaining power with the regime. Bush should offer to facilitate
contacts with such American organizations as the National
Endowment for Democracy; these can be sources of financial and
organizational assistance. Bush should pledge to encourage
American political parties and similar groups to establish close ties
with their East European counterparts.
4) Encourage the regimes to pursue political and economic reforms.
Bush should advise the Hungarian and Polish authorities that the
U.S. is closely watching developments in their countries. They should
be told that the U.S. will structure its economic cooperation with
Hungary and Poland in accordance with their movement toward full
democracy and a free enterprise economy.
5) Reaffirm the critical importance of Eastern Europe for
U.S.-Soviet relations.
The Cold War started in Eastern Europe, and it can end only with
the end of Soviet domination. Bush's visit should reaffirm the U.S.
commitment to the self-determination of the nations of the region.
From Bush's platforms in Poland and Hungary, Moscow should
receive a message, loud and clear, that there will be no full
normalization of U.S.-Soviet relations until Eastern Europe is free to
choose its own political and economic systems. Even as he warns
Moscow against intervention, however, Bush should offer to discuss
with the Soviet leadership possible East-West arrangements to speed
the lifting and eventual elimination of Soviet control over Eastern
Europe.
6) Spur the igniting of a thousand points of light in Eastern Europe.
As he has advocated in the U.S., Bush should emphasize the key role
of the private sector as the source of creativity and progress. Eastern
Europe's tremendous problems are the result of failed government
policies and statist attitudes. Solutions can only come from the
private sector. Bush should encourage establishment of connections
at all levels between America's private organizations and their
counterparts in Eastern Europe, including businesses, universities,
political parties, and labor unions.
7
ACCOMPLISHING THE AMERICAN AGENDA:
WHAT BUSH SHOULD DO WHILE IN POLAND AND HUNGARY
In what will surely be an emotional, media-saturated atmosphere, Bush's visit to Poland
and Hungary gives him an unprecedented opportunity to advance U.S. interests in the
region through a variety of public and private statements and actions. In a visit rife with
symbolism, the peoples of Eastern Europe, their governments, and the Soviet leadership
will be watching not only what the President says but interpreting what he does. To ensure
that the goals of his trip are accomplished, Bush should:
Inform Hungarian and Polish officials of the criteria by which the
U.S. will judge their progress and structure U.S. economic
assistance.
In private talks with the Hungarian and Polish governments, Bush
should present a list of criteria to measure progress toward political
and economic reform. These should include:
institutionalization of an independent legislature, judiciary, and
free press;
free elections;
curtailing the powers of the secret police almost completely;
legalization of independent political parties;
elimination of all privileges for the communist parties and of all
restrictions on the number of legislative seats that the opposition can
win in free elections;
suspension of restrictions on private enterprise;
price reform;
development of a free capital marker;
development of a free labor market;
eventual elimination of central planning and organizations of
economic control, such as the Polish Ministry of Industry and the
Hungarian National Price Office;
gradual privatization of state-owned industrial enterprise;
codification of commercial law.
Inform the authorities of American incentives for reforms.
In private talks with the Hungarian and Polish authorities, Bush
should outline the economic and political rewards from the U.S. if
democratization, radical economic reforms and increasing
independence from Moscow continue. These incentives should
include loans, increased commercial access to high technology, free
market management training, and more cultural cooperation.
8
Bush should state his understanding of the magnitude of the problem
of Poland's and Hungary's huge foreign debts, but he should declare
that debt forgiveness or massive new loans are not realistic solutions.
He should be prepared, however, to offer some limited assistance,
including government loans, as an inducement to economic
restructuring.
Warn of the consequences if reforms are stopped or reversed.
Polish and Hungarian officials should be warned privately against
slow-downs or reversals of reforms. They should be told that the
availability of American economic assistance will follow closely the
pace and direction of reform. In case of an anti-reform crackdown or
a Soviet invasion, U.S. punitive measures could include the
suspension of trading relationships, access to credits and markets,
cultural and scientific exchanges, financial and technological
assistance, and access to high technology products.
Warn Moscow against interference.
Bush's public and private statements should refer frequently to the
U.S. policy of opposing the interference of outside powers in the
internal affairs of Eastern Europe. This message is to be aimed at
Moscow as a warning against a Soviet attempt to stop or reverse the
reforms. At the same time, Bush should offer to discuss with Moscow
the conditions and timetables by which the Soviet Union would yield
control over Eastern Europe.
Laud personal liberty and private initiative as solutions to the East
European economic crisis.
As Ronald Reagan did very successfully in his May 1988 speech at
the Moscow University, Bush's planned speech at Budapest's Karl
Marx University should outline to young East Europeans the
advantages of personal freedom and individual initiative. Some 140
years ago, the man whose name this University bears declared that
"a specter is haunting Europe - the specter of Communism." As it
happened, a very different specter has haunted and subjected
Eastern Europe. Today a new spirit is offering the promise of liberty,
freedom, and unfettered entrepreneurial initiative.
Bush should emphasize that the success of the U.S. and the dynamic
economies of East Asia and Britain have demonstrated that the free
market and political liberty are the only ways to create prosperous
and open societies, and that every country can repeat this success by
adopting these principles.
Make movement toward democracy and free markets a condition
for increased economic assistance.
In outlining what the U.S. has to offer Eastern Europe, Bush should
stress that financial and technological assistance will be forthcoming
9
only if the region continues to move toward a free market capitalist
economy. Preference in assistance will be given to private
enterprises. No "blank checks" will be given to the governments,
which have mismanaged billions of dollars of Western loans in the
past.
Bush should state that the U.S. and the West will not be doing any
country any favors by providing the governments with financial and
other assistance at concessionary rates. At best, this would encourage
these governments not to move toward free markets. Thus the U.S.
and other Western countries should remove barriers to credit,
foreign markets, and cooperation with Western firms, such as
lowering tariffs, encouraging businesses to explore opportunities in
Eastern Europe, and providing political risk insurance on a selected
basis. Bush should encourage greatly expanded ties between
businessmen, academics, and government officials and Western
organizations that could provide valuable assistance in such areas as
management training and the workings of a market economy.
Insist on meeting Hungarian and Polish conservatives and
advocates of a free market.
To counter socialist and statist influences in the democratic
opposition, Bush should meet with conservative activists and
businessmen in the opposition to emphasize his support for free
market solutions to the region's economic problems. In Hungary, for
example, he should meet Marton Tardos, a leading free market
economist, and Balint Magyar, a sociologist and leader of the Free
Democratic Alliance. In Poland, he should meet with Stefan
Kisielewski, a respected pro-market journalist in Warsaw, and
Miroslaw Dzielski, President of the Cracow Industrial Society, a
group lobbying for free market solutions to Poland's economic
problem. This display of presidential respect and attention will boost
the authority of conservatives and help advance a non-socialist,
private enterprise solution to both countries' economic crisis.
Visit successful private entrepreneurs.
To underscore the U.S. commitment to free enterprise and private
initiative, Bush should visit such successful entrepreneurs as Jozsef
Pinter in Kecel, some 93 miles from Budapest. He employs 300 at a
firm that manufactures precision tools for export, mostly to West
Germany and the U.S. His success has been demonstrated by the fact
that his company recently received a $2 million World Bank loan.
In Poland, he should meet with businessmen such as Tadeusz
Syryjczyk, president of ABAKS, a computer software company in
Cracow, and Andrzej Machalski, president of UNICUM, a private
cooperative wholesale trade company.
10
Laud the peoples' resistance to communism.
While giving credit to the Hungarian and Polish authorities for
instituting reforms, Bush should emphasize that it has been the
courage of the Polish and Hungarian peoples who have resisted
communism for forty years that is forcing the regimes to reform.
Americans admire and applaud this courage because it was displayed
in the struggle for the same inalienable rights enshrined in the
American Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address.
Stress the historic bonds between the peoples of Eastern Europe and
America and the West.
Bush should emphasize the bonds between the U.S. and the peoples
of Eastern Europe, separate from the relations with the regimes. To
highlight the commonality of aspirations of the Americans and East
Europeans, Bush should praise the Polish general Thaddeus
Kosciusko (in Polish, Tadeusz Kosciuszko), who fought in the
American revolution and then returned to Poland to struggle against
Russian domination. Bush should refer to Kosciusko's 1794 call to
action during that struggle: Wolnosc, Wasnosc, Niepodleglosc
(pronounced Volnoshch, Vwasnoshch, Nyehpodlegwoshch),
meaning Liberty, Property, Sovereignty. Then there is Ignace Jan
Paderewski, who headed the government of newly independent
Poland in 1919 and represented the Polish government-in-exile in
1940-1941. Buried in Washington's Arlington Cemetery, Paderewski
requested that he be laid to rest in a free Poland. Complying with his
request, the U.S. has refused return the body to a communist Poland.
Bush should express hope that soon the remains of the Polish
democrat and patriot will be buried in his motherland.
Bush should note that the U.S. always has been a place of refuge for
people fleeing political persecution and economic deprivation,
including many from Eastern Europe. These refugees and their
millions of descendants have forged a permanent and intimate bond
between the U.S. and these countries. In speaking of the growing ties
between Eastern Europe and the West, Bush also should emphasize
not just removal of the Iron Curtain's artificial barriers but the
restoration of these countries to their rightful and historical place as
integral parts of West European civilization.
Avoid the term "Eastern Europe."
Bush should avoid using the term "Eastern Europe" in public
pronouncements because it is resented by the Hungarians and the
Poles, which are among the oldest West European nations, and
because it accepts the Soviet line of treating these countries as a
distinct region, separate from the rest of Europe. Instead, the link
with the rest of the Europe and Western civilization, severed by the
Soviet occupation 44 years ago, should be emphasized. Bush should
11
refer to Poland and Hungary as part of Central Europe, emphasizing
the traditional ties of these countries with the rest of Europe.
Devote considerable time to the democratic opposition.
In both countries, Bush should spend a great part of his visit with the
democratic opposition. Like British Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher during her November 1988 visit to Poland, Bush should
treat Solidarity leader Lech Walesa as the true leader of the Polish
nation.
Pay tribute to the martyrs of the democratic resistance.
The heroes of the popular opposition to communist totalitarianism
should be praised by name. Bush should lay wreaths on the Gdansk
Monument to protesters killed by the authorities in 1970 and on the
grave of the leader of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Imre Nagy.
CONCLUSION
George Bush's trip to Hungary and Poland offers the U.S. an unprecedented opportunity
to reengage in Eastern Europe. The weakening Soviet grip on the region and the advance of
real reform in Hungary and Poland have opened the way for seriously pressing the
American agenda of democracy, self-determination, and free markets. This could pave the
way for drastically reducing if not eliminating entirely the military and political influence of
the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe. This would serve the interests not only of the U.S., but
of all Europeans.
It also could help resolve the economic crisis in Eastern Europe and help lay the
groundwork for that region's transition toward a market economy. Rather than putting their
faith in failed statist or socialist economic models, as advocated by the non-communist Left
in Western and Eastern Europe, Poland and Hungary should be encouraged to try what has
succeeded throughout the world: limited governmental interference in economic affairs,
free markets, and a reliance on private enterprise and initiative.
Bush should use his visit to inform Polish and Hungarian officials of what they have to
gain from the U.S. if they continue reform and what they have to lose if they do not. More
economic, trade, advanced technology, and managerial assistance, for example, would be
available if reform continues.
Presidential Inspiration. Just as the 1979 visit to Poland by Pope John Paul II inspired
nationalism and ignited religious fervor in Poland, ultimately helping to spark the Solidarity
movement, so too can the inspiration of an American President speaking of the virtues of
democracy, freedom, and private enterprise encourage dissidents and reformers to press
ahead for more democracy and economic freedom.
12
Like most presidential trips abroad, this visit to Eastern Europe is a test for George Bush.
He will be successful if he: gets the Polish and Hungarian authorities and opposition groups
alike to begin thinking about how to apply American models of democracy and private
enterprise to solving their economic and political problems; articulates to the authorities a
set of incentives to encourage reform and disincentives to guard against its reversal; and
strongly supports the democratic opposition and advocates of private enterprise, giving
them the hope to press ahead with the reforms that are in the interests of the West and East
European peoples.
A Bush Doctrine. If he is successful, Bush could begin an historic change in U.S. policy.
An activist East European policy that accepts the necessity of U.S. engagement in the
region would be a victory for the U.S. No longer accepting the dictum that Eastern Europe
is a sphere of influence only for the Soviet Union - or perhaps Germany - Bush could put
his name on a new foreign policy doctrine that has as its aim the liberation of Eastern
Europe from Soviet tutelage, and with that, the ultimate end to the division of Europe.
This is a tall order, but for the first time since the end of World War II, it is a genuine
possibility.
13
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COVER FAX SHEET
WALLACE - WHITE HOUSE SPEECHWRITERS' OFFICE
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FROM:
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PRESIDENT'S TOAST AT AMBASSADOR'S LUNCH
SUBJECT:
MESSAGE/REMARKS:
FOR: Clearance
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Per request
Comment
No. of pages to follow 2
M.K. -
Call Dan Fried at state
647-1070
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PRESIDENT'S TOAST AT AMBASSADOR'S LUNCH
FOR THE INDEPENDENT INTELLECTUAL COMMUNITY
July 10, 1989
IT IS AN HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO BE WITH YOU HERE TODAY.
SOME OF US MET TWO YEARS AGO, IN WARSAW. [HOW VERY MUCH HAS
CHANGED SINCE.
IT'S A PRIVILEGE TO BE IN POLAND IN THESE HOPEFUL TIMES.
AS YOU KNOW FAR BETTER THAN ] THIS IS A SINGULAR MOMENT IN
POLAND'S HISTORY, PERHAPS THE MOST PROFOUNDLY CHALLENGING YET
IN MANY DECADES IN THIS CENTURY
HOPEFUL PERIOD SINCE THAT TERRIBLE SUMMER FIFTY YEARS AGO.
POLAND HAS ALREADY MOVED BEYOND HISTORICAL PRECEDENT.
POLES ARE FACING A TREMENDOUS TASK COURAGEOUSLY
THERE ARE NO MODELS, NO RULES FOR THE TASK POLES ARE FACING so
COURAGEOUSLY ] THE BUILDING OF STABLE, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL
AND MARKET-ORIENTED ECONOMIC STRUCTURES (or ON THE RUBBLE OF A
STALINIST PAST POLAND IS AGAIN MAKING ITS OWN HISTORY, by building
a new
you all BLAZING A TRAIL FOR OTHERS TO FOLLOW.
nation.
YOU, THE REPRESENTATIVES AND BUILDERS OF INDEPENDENT POLISH
SOCIETY, ARE LEADING THE WAY. YOU ARE NOT DOING IT ALONE --
YOU HAVE COUNTERPARTS IN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PARTY -- BUT,
WITHOUT YOU, IT WOULD NOT BE HAPPENING: THEREFORE, YOU ARE
MAKING IT HAPPEN HAPPEN.) IF THIS CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS SUCCEEDS, AS
AMONG
IT MUST, YOU WILL BE THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF A NEW POLAND AND,
inturn
I BELIEVE, A NEW EUROPE
a Europe whole and free.
MY COUNTRY AND THE WORLD ARE INSPIRED BY POLAND'S SINGULAR
SUCCESS AT THE ROUNDTABLE AND BY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
ROUNDTABLE'S PROVISIONS.
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-2-
But
AND ECONOMIC PRESSURES
many
WE ARE ALSO AWARE OF THE VAST DIFFICULTIES THAT LIE BEFORE
that
YOU.
WE UNDERSTAND THE ECONOMIC PRESSURES THAT OVERHANG THIS
liqued.
you MUST OVERCOME THE
PROCESS
WE UNDERSTAND WIN THE DEPTH OF MISTRUST, FEAR AND
OF OTHERS-- TO SUCCESD or = THE
CYNICISM THAT HAVE so POLARIZED POLISH SOCIETY AND MAKE THE
FREEDOM
REPORM THAT AWAIT you.
TASK
OF POLITICAL COMPROMISE AND ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING so
DIFFICULT. WE KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, THAT THERE IS NO WAY OTHER
together
THAN THE HARD, EVEN PAINFUL ROAD TO ECONOMIC REFORM AND
sink
RECOVERY. BUT WE DO NOT TAKE THIS LIGHTLY.
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL STAND WITH
POLAND, DOING WHAT WE CAN TO SUPPORT POLAND'S HOPEFUL
measion EXPERIMENT, UNPARALLELED IN your THE HISTORY OF OUR TROUBLED CENTURY.
WITH DEEP RESPECT FOR YOU, FOR SOLIDARITY, FOR THE
ROUNDTABLE PROCESS: WITH ADMIRATION FOR THE RESILIENCY AND
GENIUS NOW BEING EXHIBITED BY POLISH SOCIETY: WITH HOPES FOR.
THE FUTURE, I LIFT MY GLASS TO THE NATION AND PEOPLE OF POLAND.
PRESIDENT'S TOAST AT AMBASSADOR'S LUNCH
FOR THE POLISH INDEPENDENT INTELLECTUAL COMMUNITY
JULY 10, 1989
It is an honor and privilege to be with you here today.
Some of us met two years ago, in Warsaw. So much has
changed.
These are hopeful times for Poland. It's a special moment
in Poland's history, perhaps the most profoundly challenging
period in many decades.
Poland has already moved beyond historical precedent. You
are again making your own history by building a new nation.
Poles are facing a tremendous task courageously -- and you
are blazing a trail for others to follow.
You, the architects of independent Polish society, are
leading the way. You are not doing it alone -- but without
you, it would not be happening. If this constitutional
process succeeds, as it must, you will be among the founding
fathers of a new Poland, and in turn, a new Europe ...
whole
and free.
My country and the world are inspired by Poland's success at
the Roundtable and by the implementation of the Roundtable's
provisions.
But we are also aware of the many difficulties and economic
pressures that lie ahead. Your challenge is to rise above
the mistrust and cynicism of others to bring the Polish
people together for a common purpose. As that is achieved,
political freedom and economic reform for Poland can become
a reality.
I want you to know that the United States will stand with
Poland. We will support Poland's hopeful mission,
unparalleled in your history.
With deep respect for you, for Solidarity, for the
Roundtable process; with admiration for the resiliency and
genius now being exhibited by Polish society; I lift my
glass to the nation and people of Poland.
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