On April 5, IWP Founder and President Dr. John Lenczowski took part in a panel entitled “Poland, the U.S., & NATO: Confronting the Russian Threat” which was part of the Kuklinski Museum Discussion Series on “30 Years After the Fall of Communism in Europe.”
The discussion was moderated by foreign policy journalist Claudia Rosset. The other members of the panel included Polish Senator and Secretary of State of International Dialogue Anna Maria Anders and retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Tom Cosentino.
Dr. Lenczowski opened his discussion on the panel by stressing “that our national leaders have a really grave responsibility… to keep people aware of the fragility of civilization.” This role is especially important as “Americans are a very ahistorical people” and “unfortunately, we forget things.” However, Dr. Lenczowski believes that Russia can be deterred with a strong military strategy in the West.
The discussion then moved to the significance of NATO. According to Dr. Lenczowski “NATO exists not simply to deter a single threat but to try to maintain the free democratic republic and characters of its membership, which is why we have these different …political provisions which are prerequisites for entry into NATO.” Dr. Lenczowski emphasized the importance of maintaining the values and principles which NATO protects.
Dr. Lenczowski discussed “non-military instruments of national power that are much more affordable than a full spectrum military force” to which every NATO country could contribute. These instruments included sharing intelligence, having strong information policy, enacting public diplomacy, and countering propaganda and disinformation. Dr. Lenczowski stressed the Cold War nature of Russia’s and China’s actions against the U.S. and stated that “perhaps we need to develop some capacities to conduct political, ideological, and psychological warfare against some of these people.” As the discussion wound down, Dr. Lenczowski spoke of the peaceful nature of NATO, calling it “an incredibly good investment for the West.”
To watch the video of the event click here.