Embassy Events 2004

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Secretary of State Colin Powell told Poland on August 1 that it need never fear the kind of outside domination it has endured in the 20th century because the United States now stands at its side.

Powell spoke hours before he participated in a ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Uprising, a rebellion against Nazi occupiers that was crushed after 63 days. The heroism of the Polish fighters is commemorated each August 1.

``Poland will never be alone again, especially with the United States standing alongside Poland,'' Powell told reporters.

He laid a wreath at a memorial to victims of the uprising and delivered brief remarks at an official ceremony in the evening.

Standing before a crowd of thousands in the Square of the Insurgents [speech], Powell said: ``Everyone who fought during those dark 63 days was a hero; a hero for Poland, a hero for freedom.''

At another point, he said that today Poland ``perhaps for the first time in its history is no longer the pawn of great powers or the prey of vast tyrannies.''

The secretary met with President Aleksander Kwasniewski after a meeting with Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, who accompanied the visiting American to his news conference [transcript].

Some 2,400 Poles serve in Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition. Powell said he was grateful for the Polish contribution, noting that the government's commitment remains strong despite Polish casualties and the deployment's high cost.

He said the United States will work with each of the coalition partners in the coming months as they review their troop commitments in Iraq.

Powell flew home from Warsaw, ending a seven-day trip that also included Hungary, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait.

Text courtesy of Associated Press