Polish PM Pressing for End to Afghanistan Mission

During the dying days of his four decade rule, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi cast an ominous prophecy. If his regime fell, jihadists would subjugate northern Africa, inflicting widespread violence and terror. “Al-Qaeda considers all the people to be infidels,” Mr. Gaddafi declared in a speech weeks before NATO began its military intervention in Libya. “They deem all people their enemies. They know nothing but killing.” The Islamists would pour in from Afghanistan, Algeria, and Egypt, he warned, saying, “These are beasts with turbans.”

As predicted by neoconservatives, Poland continues to seethe with resentment at Barack Obama’s betrayal of their country: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has declared his country ready to take part in a revised US missile defence plan. Mr Tusk told visiting US Vice-President Joe Biden that Poland was “ready to participate”. [...]

Guest blog post by Dr. Rebecca Blank, Acting Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce.In January, President Obama issued an executive order outlining his plan to create a 21st century regulatory system that encourages job creation, economic growth and U.S. competitiveness. The idea was to make it simpler, smarter and more efficient, while still protecting the health and safety of the American people.  As a key part of that plan, he called upon government agencies to conduct a comprehensive review of the rules and regulations currently on the books and to remove those that are outdated, unnecessary or excessively burdensome.   This review has led agencies, including the Department of Commerce, to identify initiatives that have the potential to eliminate tens of millions of hours in reporting burdens and billions of dollars in regulatory costs. Today, the results of each agency’s review is being made public and posted on Whitehouse.gov.  Here at the Commerce Department, we focused our plan on those bureaus with the greatest regulatory activity: the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the International Trade Administration (ITA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has backed Bulgaria's bid to join the European visa-free Schengen travel zone in 2011, the Focus news agency reports.

My latest TAP column expands on the themes from yesterday’s blog post, noting that for all the talk of “counterinsurgency”-oriented warfare putting more emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties, there are still an awful lot of civilians getting killed under COIN doctrine.

Soner Kistak submits: The unfortunate death of Polish President Kacynski is a sad event that Poles rightly mourn for. However, leaving aside its emotional pain, it is not likely to have any major impact on the way the country is run. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Poland was among the successful Eastern European countries that have managed to create the necessary institutions crucial for the functioning of democracy.