Poland is a friend and partner to the United States. We have worked together to bring peaceful democratic change in Europe, we have fought together in Iraq and Afghanistan to make the world safer, we are cooperating to fight terrorism and organized crime, we are taking the hard decisions like missile defense that will better protect our countries, and we are standing together now to support the fledgling democracy in Georgia against intimidation and aggression by Russia. These factors should have been weighted in the judgment about Poland’s status.
When I am President, I will revisit Poland’s exclusion from the visa waiver program as a priority. It is important not only as a symbol of the deep friendship between the United States and Poland, but for the commerce, tourism and family gatherings that Poles and Polish Americans benefit from.
Thank you and the Polish American Congress for being a strong voice of freedom, of human rights, of spreading democracy, of the cultural heritage of Polish Americans and their current contributions in all these areas. America is enriched and strengthened by your activities.
